Toyota sees traditional gas engines phased out of its line by the 2040s

Toyota sees dedicated gas and diesel engines in its vehicles lineup reducing down to zero by the 2040s, on its path to its goal of reducing the CO2 emissions of its vehicles by 90 percent by 2050 (compared to 2010). At a press conference hosted by the company at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show today, Toyota’s Chief Safety Technology Officer Kiyotaka Ise noted that this is their anticipated time frame for ending the production of gas and diesel cars.

The timeline is close to the target dates mentioned by some other companies, and matches up with the ban targets set by a number of countries, including France and the U.K., with China also announcing plans to set a timeline for the end of purely internal combustion engine vehicles.

This doesn’t mean that Toyota will sell only electric vehicles from the 2040s on — the company has been one of the slowest movers among automakers when it comes to building purely electric cars, and it has repeatedly said that it believes the best strategy is to embrace a range of powertrain options, including fuel cell and hybrid vehicles, to suit the needs of different markets around the world.

Internal combustion tech will still be used from the 2040s on, Ise said, via hybrid engines, but the use of purely ICE drivetrains won’t make sense after this date given the company’s aggressive emissions targets and the progress of its technology in hybrid powertrain options.