For the longest time, two of the biggest auto manufacturers refused to enter to the electric vehicle market. Toyota and Mazda were adamant that they would not build a fully-electric mass produced vehicle, but as it turns out, if that's the where the market is heading, then so are they. They will have a lot of catching up to do as some of their rivals have been doing this for years: VW, Daimler, GM and Jaguar have all either been involved or have been planning for a few years.

However, both Mazda and Toyota announced that they're simply doing this because it seems to be the way forward and the way of the future according to other people, not because they fully agree with it. But, it's a business, and if you don't go with what he customers want, you stand a pretty large chance of losing a lot of them. The decision, as they say, was more passive than anything else. In addition, stricter regulations in China would mean that electric vehicles might become the only option in the future. Both car companies state that they haven't made a breakthrough in battery technology for a while, and both don't expect to make a profit from electric vehicles. 

Despite these claims, Mazda is still going to be pushing diesel vehicles in the U.S. next year, and Toyota, the rightful owner of the biggest eco car perhaps, the petrol-hybrid Prius, is still pushing for hydrogen powered vehicles as the cars of the future. We'll see how things progress in 2017, but an all-electric car from both companies is looking highly unlikely for the next two to three years at least. Like we said, they have a lot of catching up to do, and only time will tell if they successfully integrate into the market.