Automotive News Daily Drive · Automotive News

March 25, 2026 | Toyota’s Mark Templin on tariff pressure, price hikes; Honda, Sony nix Afeela EVs

·18 min

The episode starts with a tight news roundup that sets the tone for the auto business. Sony Honda Mobility is canceling the first and second Afila electric vehicle models it had planned for North America, and the company says it is reviewing the future of the joint venture. Toyota then comes into focus as a company trying to stay steady while the market keeps moving around it. Mark Templin says Toyota is not going to panic and will keep doing business the way it always has. He also says that if the pressure goes on for a long time, Toyota will need to work out countermeasures. The conversation then turns to pricing. Templin says Toyota is watching the market closely and moving with it. He says the company will likely be doing more price increases than it has in the past, based on how the market moves. Toyota tells dealers and customers that it is not trying to push pricing higher on its own. It says it will follow the marketplace and price to the market. The discussion then shifts to lower-margin segments. Templin says Toyota is trying to push electric cars harder in areas where it wants stronger traction. He points to the BZ4X and the newer BZ as part of that push. He says Toyota has done a lot of training and has good incentives on those cars to bring more people in early. The idea is that early adoption can help support better EVs down the line. The interview also touches on Toyota’s newer joint EVs. Templin says Toyota wants to make a statement in the market and get people into the cars quickly so they can say good things about them. He says the products are fantastic and fun to drive, including the Toyota side and Lexus side EVs he mentions. The show then puts Toyota’s broader EV goal in plain terms. If the market ends up at 15 percent EV share, Toyota believes it should get 15 percent of that EV market. Templin says he thinks Toyota can do better than that. The tone stays practical rather than promotional. The episode also uses the segment to show Toyota’s long view. Templin says the company has been doing this for 40 years and expects to keep doing it for another 40 years. That line lands as a statement of continuity in a year shaped by tariffs, unrest, and EV recalibration. Earlier in the show, the news rundown ties these Toyota comments to the wider auto landscape. A supplier warning from Toyota’s CEO and Stellantis’s plans for Chrysler are both part of the same business picture. The episode does not stay with one company for long. It moves from one pressure point to the next, which gives the hour a newsroom feel. The result is an update on how automakers are absorbing trade costs, rethinking EV timing, and trying to keep product plans lined up with a volatile market. It is less about hype than about the choices that follow when the market moves first. Listeners get a clear sense that price, policy, and product are all tied together here. The show leaves the impression that the auto industry is adapting in real time rather than waiting for stability before making decisions.

As heard by us

A practical auto-industry snapshot of tariffs, pricing pressure, and EV cancellations.

Toyota's tariff response, Sony-Honda's EV cancellations, and the pressure on suppliers and pricing make this episode a clear snapshot of an auto industry under strain.

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Why you'd press play

Tariffs, price pressure, and an EV reset from the auto floor.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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