Toyota’s product plan reportedly includes several small models, including a compact SUV, likely targeting a range greater than 215 miles and built on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform

Toyota’s product plan reportedly includes several small models, including a compact SUV, likely targeting a range greater than 215 miles and built on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform that underpins the current Prius and the next-generation Corolla.

Lexus execs have said that the brand will skip over plug-in-hybrid technology but look ahead to fuel-cell and battery-electric vehicles, so there may be some sharing across brands. As for the battery, the automaker is said to be considering manufacturing its own lithium-ion packs (a business that Nissan, now a veteran in the mass-market EV business, has recently sought to exit). But applying some Prius-like economies of scale to battery manufacture could reduce the cost of more energy-dense packs.

Toyota’s last all-electric vehicle for the U.S. market was the Toyota RAV4 EV, a model that offered a startling “RAV4 Powered by Tesla” gauge-cluster greeting and did indeed pack a mostly Tesla-engineered powertrain. Its driving range was rated by the EPA at 103 miles, and it offered a zippy, Tesla-tuned driving experience despite its extra weight. Toyota produced 2600 RAV4 EVs over three years (2012–2014), but it needed to put substantial cash on the hood to find takers for that electric crossover, which was priced over the $50K mark.

Prior to that, back at the 2009 Detroit auto show, Toyota displayed the FT-EV, a battery-electric city car based on the short-lived Scion iQ minicompact; that program devolved to a very limited fleet test in Japan, where it was called the eQ.

Toyota Motor Sales environmental communications manager Jana Hartline wouldn’t speak directly of the company’s product plans, but she confirmed that Toyota is working on both fuel-cell vehicles and EVs. Hartline added that, while there remain issues to be resolved (range, charging times, and battery performance), “We would like to be prepared to consider introducing EV products while examining the energy issues and infrastructure of each region/country.”

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At present, EVs face a rapidly evolving and uncertain market. The Nissan Leaf has hardly been a sales success, and cumulative Leaf sales in the U.S., since deliveries began in late 2011, just reached 100,000 in October, while globally, Leaf sales are nearing the 250,000 mark. Meanwhile the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is on its way to dealerships, and a slew of mass-market EVs are due within a couple of years—including a second-generation Leaf that’s expected to offer a couple of battery options and go more than 200 miles on a charge. The Volkswagen Group is now planning more than 30 new pure-electric vehicles by 2025, and it bullishly anticipates that EVs will make up about 25 percent of the automaker’s global sales (in the range of 2 to 3 million units) by 2025. And the upcoming Tesla Model 3, the California automaker’s mass-production model with an announced $35,000 base price, due at the end of 2017, may have a make-or-break effect on the entire segment.

If Toyota is making a move, you can bet it’s clever and calculated. The automaker has a reputation for locking on to fully baked technology, setting its bearings, and then playing the long game, and ultimately we expect it to do the same with electric vehicles.