During the first six months of 2025 the Toyota brand sold 591,115 vehicles on the continent, 491,197 of which were electrified.
The automaker has not focused heavily on EVs, catering to a greater variety of buyers in various countries in the geopolitical bloc, not all of whom are interested exclusively in electrification.
Still, BEV sales by Toyota and Lexus grew 42% year-on-year in the January-June period, while PHEVs grew 186% for the two brands.
Toyota's modern EV era in the US began with the bZ4X (hastily facelifted and recently renamed simply bZ), but its reticence toward electric models might also extend to other important markets, including Europe.
The automaker recently kept its second best-selling car brand crown, behind only Volkswagen, with all-time record sales of 591,115 vehicles, 491,197 of which were electrified.
Electrified does not mean all-electric, of course, but BEV sales by Toyota and Lexus grew an impressive 42% in the January-June period between 2024 and 2025. That's a serious gain of which any European automaker would be envious.
The Toyota brand alone saw a gain of 46% year-on-year among solely BEVs, amounting to 27,773 vehicles. The familiar bZ4X accounted for the lion's share of that with 18,724 unit sold, while the rest were electric versions of its Proace van.
So the midsize crossover is still considered the safest play on the other side of the Atlantic as well.
The Lexus UX electric, on the other hand, saw 953 units find buyers in the first six months of the year, while the Lexus RZ saw far more fans with sales of 2,521 units.
But the Tidal Wave Is Coming
"Despite various headwinds in the market, we are encouraged that consumer demand remains solid for the Toyota and Lexus range of electrified vehicles," said Till Conrad, Executive Vice President-Sales, Toyota Motor Europe. "It's testament to our product power offering a broad lineup of zero and low-emission electrified product."
Toyota's results from the first six months would seem like steady progress, at least at first blush. The automaker, among other European brands, is about to face a tidal wave of affordable EVs from China, including from brands like MG, BYD, Nio, Xpeng, and Leapmotor.
Yes, it's that same MG that was purchased by SAIC back in 2006 during MG-Rover's collapse. And now it's back after a series of mostly forgettable commuter cars with an affordable electric roadster—something you may recall Tesla promised about a decade ago.
Whether Europe is ready for an electric roadster—from Tesla or MG—is another matter.
As in the US, Toyota and Lexus are still staking much of their strategy on hybrids of all types, rather than going all-in on electric models.
And for now, this slow but steady approach seems to be paying off in Europe. And by that we mean the entirety of the EU member states and not the stereotypical EV-friendly Scandinavians and residents of the low countries.
Lexus Lineup 100% Electrified
"Lexus has a 100% electrified sales mix in West Europe and 95% across the entire region. Key performers are the compact Lexus LBX Hybrid and Lexus NX (available in plug-in hybrid and hybrid variants)," the automaker notes.
Toyota's top seller in Europe during the first six months of the year was the Yaris Cross, with 103,580 units—definitely not an EV. And its second best seller was the Yaris, with 90,549 units.
Among electrified but not electric cars, Toyota's top seller was the Yaris Cross Hybrid, with 103,574 units finding homes in the first six months of the year. The Yaris Hybrid wasn't far behind, finding 90,074 buyers.
Overall, the automaker appears to have correctly judged the demand for EVs in the middle of the decade, ignoring a period early in the pandemic that saw a rush for EVs and panicked predictions of the quick demise of everything else, including diesels.
The same appears to have held true for the Toyota brand, with the division focusing on affordable bread-and-butter models, with plenty of hybrid tech on board.
"Toyota's overall electrified sales mix is now at 76%, with volume increasing +6% year-on-year," the automaker noted.
The more important metric: PHEVs saw an even more impressive surge, gaining 272% year-on-year in sales strictly within the Toyota brand and amounting to 42,200 vehicles.
For all the talk of gains by EVs, it's actually the PHEVs that have surged the most over the past year.
So there is still plenty of interest in hybrids of all sorts in Europe, despite predictions early in the decade that everything what wasn't battery-electric by 2025 would be hopelessly outdated.
Should Toyota offer a wider variety of small electric cars in the US? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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