Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corp.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty’s paintings
DETROIT- Toyota engine the stock sealed its best week since 2009 on Friday, as the automaker unveiled a solid plan for future all-electric vehicles and the company’s scion Akio Toyoda became the leader of the Japanese firm’s board of directors.
Toyota shares on the Latest York Stock Exchange closed at $164.35 a share on Friday, down 2.3% on the day but up 10.6% on the week. This 5-day gain is the best week for stocks since April 2009, when stocks rose 14.5%.
Such a rally will not be typical for motion. This is simply the third double-digit weekly gain in greater than twenty years for relatively well-performing but mundane stocks. The corporate’s shares are up 20% up to now in 2023.
Positive growth this yr got here as recent supply chain issues eased the automotive industry, including Toyota, and after Toyoda, the company’s founder’s grandson, announced plans to maneuver from chief executive to chairman after greater than 13 years at the helm of the automaker.
Toyoda, who stepped down as chief executive on April 1 and was replaced by Koji Sato, has drawn criticism from some environmental groups and investors for not choosing electric cars and continuing to provide hybrids and plug-in hybrids such as Prius and Prius Prime.
Toyota shares in 2023
Toyota executives, while increasing investment in electric vehicles, argued that such cars and trucks are one solution, not an answer, to satisfy tightening global emission standards and achieve carbon neutrality.
To handle skeptics of its strategy, the automaker in Japan this week offered a rare behind-the-scenes have a look at its plans for the future.
“Management has rarely announced details of the technology under development in the past, and we sensed a commitment to providing competitive strength through electrification and intellectualization under latest leadership,” JPMorgan analyst Akira Kishimoto said in a note to investors this week.
Ahead of its annual meeting on Wednesday, Toyota unveiled plans for a latest generation of electrical vehicles to compete with industry leaders Tesla and Chinese BYD. The corporate has said it plans to launch next-generation electric vehicles starting in 2026, including vehicles with highly advertised “solid-state batteries” by 2027 or 2028.
![The Rise and Fall of the Toyota Prius](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/103491855-2016_Toyota_Prius_Four_Touring_02_54CECFE89DE5799B719C2EAF21ECC6C6629C98A8.jpg?v=1529471042&w=750&h=422&vtcrop=y)
Solid-state batteries may be lighter, have the next energy density and supply longer range at a lower cost than today’s lithium-ion battery electric vehicles.
Takero Kato, president of Toyota’s battery electric vehicle plant, said Toyota is targeting a variety of 1,000 kilometers or 620 miles for its electric vehicles. He said the plant is predicted to provide about 1.7 million vehicles by 2030.
“The strategic concentrate on differentiation (by way of technology and business model) reasonably than scale in 2025-30 and the company’s strong ability to develop technology to this end are, in our view, long-term positives,” UBS analyst Kohei Takahashi said on Tuesday. in the investor note.
Following the announcements, Toyota shareholders on Wednesday approved the company’s latest leadership and rejected a shareholder proposal requiring Toyota to review its climate-related lobbying efforts – a vote as really useful by the company.
— CNBC Michael Bloom AND Lim Hui Jie contributed to this report.