In an interview with Autocar, Toyota believes that the internal combustion engine will be dead by 2050 as officials clamp down on CO₂ emissions.

According to the article, Toyota’s head of advanced R&D and engineering, Seigo Kuzumaki, mentioned that internal combustion engines will be far less common than electric powertrains by 2040.

“We expect that by 2050 we will have reduced CO₂ emissions from vehicles by 90 percent compared to the figure in 2010. To achieve that from 2040 simple internal combustion-engined cars will not be made, but they may be the basis of some hybrid or plug-in hybrid cars,” he said.

Also mentioned in the article is Toyota's long-term plans for the electrification of its cars. It reckons that it is able to produce solid-state batteries by the early 2020s, allowing its EVs to offer exceptional range and fast-charging.

“We hold more patents on solid-state batteries than any other company. We are getting close to developing cars using the technology, and we believe that we will be ahead of our rivals in achieving that,” he revealed.