Once Upon a Farm Raises Nearly $198 Million in IPO, Valued at Over $724 Million 
How to support someone who is grieving: five research-backed strategies 
We combed through old botanical surveys to track how plants on Australia’s islands are changing 
SoftBank Shares Slide After Arm Earnings Miss Fuels Tech Stock Sell-Off 
Canada’s local food system faces major roadblocks without urgent policy changes 
Dow Hits 50,000 as U.S. Stocks Stage Strong Rebound Amid AI Volatility 
Oil Prices Slip as U.S.–Iran Talks Ease Supply Disruption Fears 
Ukraine minerals deal: the idea that natural resource extraction can build peace has been around for decades 
Swimming in the sweet spot: how marine animals save energy on long journeys 
Asian Stocks Slip as Tech Rout Deepens, Japan Steadies Ahead of Election 
Thailand Inflation Remains Negative for 10th Straight Month in January 
The UK is surprisingly short of water – but more reservoirs aren’t the answer 
Tencent Shares Slide After WeChat Restricts YuanBao AI Promotional Links 
Trump Endorses Japan’s Sanae Takaichi Ahead of Crucial Election Amid Market and China Tensions 
GesiaPlatform Launches Carbon-Neutral Lifestyle App ‘Net Zero Heroes’ 
South Korea Assures U.S. on Trade Deal Commitments Amid Tariff Concerns 
How to create a thriving forest, not box-checking ‘tree cover’ 
Toyota Motor Corp. will develop an EV-only platform to cut costs, and raise production efficiency and competitiveness to directly compete with industry leader Tesla.
The strategy is a radical shift gear in how it manufactures electric vehicles..
The Japanese carmaker is moving to mass-produce EVs in anticipation of a rapid increase in consumer demand given recent gas price surges.
Last year, Toyota introduced the bZ4X, its first EV-only model based on a dedicated platform.
However, the bZ4X platform has similar features to those used for gasoline-fueled or hybrid cars, giving it a complicated shape, with uneven surfaces where the engine block can be mounted. It also has parts that are unnecessary for electric vehicles.
Consequently, manufacturing costs for Toyota are higher than those for Tesla’s EV-only car platform, so it decided to design a new one from scratch.
The new EV-only platform will be flat like a skateboard, as no engine will be mounted directly onto it, making it ideal to mass-produce EVs and reduce costs.
Toyota has yet to decide when it will launch an electric vehicle using the new car platform.
Toyota hopes to market 30 electric models in 2030, with projected annual global sales of 3.5 million electric vehicles by the same year.
Meawnhile, Toyota will accelerate the production and development of electric vehicles until it completes the new EV-only car platform.
Toyota manufactures the bZ4X at its Motomachi factory in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, where it will increase production mainly to export to North America.
