Late to EV party, Japan’s Big 3 play catch-up

Toyota and Lexus, Nissan and Infiniti, and Honda and Acura have all laid out strategies to greatly expand their EV offerings and promise dramatic range advances if solid-state battery technology becomes commercially viable.

Meanwhile, they continue to develop their lineups of internal combustion and hybrid vehicles to serve those customers for whom the switch to full-time battery propulsion isn’t yet practical. And, notably, Japan’s largest automakers remain active in the dwindling car segments, albeit with extended product cycles and simplified trims, while culling some of their slower-selling nameplates.

The long-term future in the United States for these automakers, each of whom has invested heavily here, may depend on how successful they are with their product plans between now and 2027 while they try to play catch-up with other global automakers’ EV offerings.