BEIJING (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp's 7203.T annual global sales of electrified vehicles could reach 5.5 million in 2025, five years earlier than initially planned, a senior company executive said at an industry conference on Tuesday.

Toyota in 2017 had announced a plan to sell 5.5 million electrified vehicles, including 4.5 million of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles and 1 million electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, by 2030.

Seiya Nakao, chairman and president of Toyota China’s engineering and manufacturing, said auto electrification was progressing faster than expected and the top Japanese automaker thinks it can reach the target sooner.

A China-based Toyota spokesman said 2025 was not a formal company target now.

Toyota sold more than 10 million vehicles globally last year, including around 2 million electrified vehicles.