Tokyo — Toyota is making a 730 billion yen ($5. 6 billion) investment in Japan and the United States to boost battery production for electric vehicles, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday.
Production is expected to begin between 2024 and 2026. In Japan, 400 billion yen ($3 billion) will go to Prime Planet Energy’s Himeji plant.
Toyota has been lucky with the Prius and other hybrid models, which have a battery electric motor and motor, so the company has lagged behind in electric cars. But global demand for electric cars is expected to increase. in the coming years as gas costs rise and environmental considerations grow.
Earlier this week, Japanese rival Honda Motor Co. announced with LG, South Korea’s top battery maker, that it will make a $4. 4 billion investment in a joint venture in the U. S. The U. S. Department of Energy produces batteries for Honda electric cars in the North American market, with complex mass production. Lithium-ion battery cells are expected to start operating until the end of 2025.
Toyota reiterated its position that “there is more than one option to achieve carbon neutrality,” highlighting how its efforts with hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells can also be solutions. The options would likely have the customer’s residence position, according to the manufacturer. founded in the city of Toyota in central Japan.
“This investment aims to enable Toyota to flexibly satisfy the wishes of its consumers in all countries and regions by supplying multiple powertrains and as many features as possible,” he said in a statement.
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Other automakers, including Ford Motor Co. , General Motors, Hyundai-Kia, Stellantis and VinFast, have announced plans for battery plants in the United States, most of them outside Michigan.
The state that is home to Detroit’s 3 automakers has a working battery plant, managed through LG Energy Solutions, which announced plans in March to quintuple production at the site. GM and LG are planning a battery factory in Delta Township, near Lansing.
A new U. S. law The U. S. Food and Drug Administration provides an incentive to build batteries in North America, adding tax credits of up to $7,500 that can only be used to defray the cost of buying an electric vehicle. To be eligible for full credits, the electric vehicle will have to involve a battery made in North America with 40% of the metals mined or recycled on the continent.