Lexus to lead Toyota's EV push, says incoming CEO Koji Sato

Toyota will use its Lexus luxury brand to lead a pivot towards next-generation battery electric vehicles, Koji Sato, its incoming CEO, said on Monday.

Sato, who takes over as the next head of the world's largest carmaker from April 1, made the comment at a news conference in Tokyo, his first since being introduced as the successor to outgoing chief Akio Toyoda last month.

The carmaker has faced criticism that it has been late to embrace battery electric vehicles, in favour of hybrids and hydrogen technology. It has long said different markets need different technologies for the drive to zero emissions.

Sato said that while the company's thinking that it needed to offer multiple options to consumers had not changed at all, it would accelerate its battery-electric offerings.

An engineer by training, Sato started his career at Toyota in 1992 before rising through the ranks to become chief engineer of Lexus International in 2016.

While he oversaw the creation of Lexus's first fully electric model, he has previously spoken of keeping open other options for powering vehicles.