TOKYO, July 11 Reuters Toyota Motor will focus on selling hydrogenpowered trucks and cars in Europe and China, as part of a push to sell 200,000 of these vehicles by 2030, executives said on Tuesday.

The decision marks a shift in focus for the Japanese automaker, a major backer of hydrogen fuelcell vehicles as an alternative to electric vehicles. Until now Toyota39;s focus has been on passenger cars and the North American market, an approach that had stalled.

The strategy update was the first by Toyota since it set up a separate hydrogenfocused unit this month to expand the application of fuelcell technology into wider applications, including industrial power generation and commercial trucks.

Toyota sold just over 3,900 fuel cell vehicles in 2022, less than half of 1 of its global sales of around 9.5 million vehicles.

This may be a strange way of putting it, but 200,000 is not a big number, Toyota39;s Chief Technology Officer, Hiroki Nakajima told reporters. We believe this number and more can be achieved.

By focusing on China and Europe, where hydrogen production and demand is higher, Toyota aims to bring costs down, Nakajima said, adding that the automaker would also look to strengthen ties with other companies.

In May, Toyota and Daimler Truck Holding said they had agreed to cooperate on hydrogen technology and reached a preliminary deal to combine their truck businesses in Japan.

Toyota launched its dedicated fuelcell unit, the Hydrogen Factory, with 1,350…