Amid a sharp downturn in EV sales in the U.S., Toyota’s longtime focus on hybrids appears to be paying off.
Toyota and Lexus sales in the U.S. rose 0.6% year over year to 633,223 vehicles in the three months ending in September, according to the company’s third-quarter sales report.
Of those, 363,367, or 57%, were what Toyota calls “electrified” vehicles, which includes hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fully electric vehicles, and fuel-cell vehicles. That means electrified models outsold Toyota and Lexus vehicles powered only by traditional combustion engines.
Looking just at the Toyota brand, the shift was even more pronounced. Toyota sold 325,227 electrified vehicles out of 540,167 total vehicles during the quarter, meaning just over 60% were electrified. Overall, Toyota’s electrified sales rose 29% year over year.
The numbers come as fully electric vehicle sales are struggling in the United States. Cox Automotive reported that new EV sales fell 46.9% year over year in August to 78,895 vehicles. Notably, Toyota was the second-largest EV seller behind Tesla in August.
The U.S. EV industry suffered a major hit last year after President Donald Trump’s administration allowed federal EV subsidies to expire in September 2025 and rolled back emissions regulations. Those policy changes also make this year’s EV sales declines look particularly steep, as consumers rushed to buy EVs ahead of the tax credit’s expiration last year.
Still, Ford CEO Jim Farley warned at the time that the policy shift could cut demand for EVs in half. The slowdown has also prompted several automakers to rethink their EV strategies and cancel plans for new EV models, resulting in even fewer options for consumers. But it is not all doom and gloom.
Higher gas prices have recently helped push more consumers toward hybrids, giving Toyota another advantage. Toyota and Lexus together offer more than 20 hybrid and plug-in hybrid options in the U.S.
Meanwhile, General Motors also reported its third-quarter sales Thursday, and it didn’t fare nearly as well. The American automaker’s U.S. sales fell 6% year over year to 670,974 vehicles. Some of GM’s EVs saw especially dramatic declines. Sales of the Chevrolet Equinox EV plunged 92% to 1,905 vehicles. The Blazer EV fell 84%, while GMC Hummer EV sales dropped 72%. Unfortunately for GM, it has very few hybrids to fall back on.
Toyota’s hybrid strategy is working pretty well for the company right now. But that doesn’t mean Toyota has no EV plans for the future.
Car and Driver reported last month that Toyota is planning a major overhaul for the next-generation Corolla. The new models are expected to arrive sometime in 2027 for the 2028 model year, with the usual gas and hybrid versions alongside plug-in hybrid and fully electric models for the first time.
Toyota has been teasing a major change for the classic car since last year. At the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, the automaker unveiled a Corolla concept design with a sleeker exterior and a more futuristic interior than previous models.
Toyota has not yet confirmed whether an electric Corolla will be sold in the U.S., but it does make it stateside, Car and Driver expects the company to offer single- and dual-motor powertrains with at least 250 miles of driving range. As for pricing, Car and Driver expects the traditional gas Corolla to start at around $25,000, with the hybrid at about $27,000 and the plug-in hybrid and EV somewhere in the $30,000 range.
