News

Toyota to Invest $17 Billion in EV Batteries

by Guillaume Rivard
Photo: Toyota

Part supplies are by far one of the top concerns in the auto industry right now and Toyota wants to do something about it.

The Japanese automaker said in a presentation on Tuesday that it plans to pour 1.5 trillion yen (approximately $17.2 billion CAD) into the development and supply of batteries for electric vehicles. It also aims to cut battery costs by half per vehicle by 2030.

Toyota talked about a new generation of lithium-ion batteries that don’t use any cobalt or nickel, are more compact in size, have higher energy density and last longer. They will be developed in a way they can be recycled or reused at the end of their life cycle, helping the company achieve its goal of full carbon neutrality by 2050.

Photo: Toyota

While consumers are currently fighting for the precious few RAV4 Prime units available, Toyota is finally ready to complement its strong hybrid lineup with a number of all-electric models. The first of 15 to hit the market by 2025 will be a compact SUV based on the bZ4X concept that was shown last April (pictured here).

Toyota’s latest announcement may sound huge, but other manufacturers have pledged to spend even more money on batteries and associated technology. Volkswagen and BMW are two examples. The latter has just increased its investment to a little more than $30 billion through 2024.

Share on Facebook
GalleryNews, reviews, videosToyota dealersUsed vehiclesToyota

More on the subject

ElectricToyota Plans to Unveil Solid-State Battery EV Prototype in 2021
Battery technology for electric vehicles is progressing at an increasingly fast pace, with several companies and academic institutions having announced major breakthroughs in the past year. While not an EV leader (it currently prefers to focus on hybrids), Toyota plans to launch the first working prototype of a vehicle powered …
Hybrid/Plug-in HybridToyota Takes Big Step to Solve Hybrid Battery Shortage
When it comes to hybrid and electric vehicles, batteries are the name of the game. We’re talking about capacity and performance, but also the ability to produce enough of them at a reasonable cost. Earlier this year, Toyota and Panasonic announced the creation of a joint venture called Prime Planet …
ShanghaiToyota bZ4X Concept Hints at Toyota’s First Electric SUV
On Sunday in Shanghai Toyota celebrated the world premiere of a new electric SUV concept that will become a production model next year. And yes, it will come to North America. Called bZ4X, this concept refers to Toyota’s new bZ sub-brand (which stands for “Beyond Zero” as in zero emissions) …
ElectricToyota Has a Plan to Popularize Electric Vehicles
Hot on the heels of announcing a collaboration with Subaru to develop a new EV platform and launch an electric SUV, Toyota gave a big presentation in Japan detailing its entire strategy for the next decade or so. Executive Vice President Shigeki Terashi talked at length about vehicle development and …
ElectricToyota Chief Scientist’s Latest Remarks on EVs Fuel Controversy
Hybrid-loving Toyota continues to advocate against a full shift to all-electric vehicles as more and more governments around the world say they want to ban gasoline engines at some point in the next decade. After Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda and Toyota Canada VP Stephen Beatty, it’s now the Japanese automaker’s …
ElectricToyota Envisions On-the-fly EV-to-EV Wireless Charging
While it keeps championing conventional hybrid vehicles—like the millions it has sold globally thus far—and rejecting the idea of a complete ban on combustion engines in the next decade, Toyota is hard at work developing its future electric vehicles starting with the bZ4X crossover. Heck, the Japanese automaker is even …
ElectricVW and Mercedes Will Sign Deals with Canada For EV Battery Materials
A series of tariff-friendly agreements that aim at securing raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and lithium in Canada for battery productions will be signed Tuesday in Toronto with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in attendance according to Bloomberg. A business delegation including representatives from …
ElectricToyota Reportedly Planning Major Shift in EV Strategy
Toyota has officially unveiled the new bZ3 compact electric sedan, a model aimed at the Chinese market but likely not North America—even though it shares its platform and several components with the bZ4X crossover. At the same time, Reuters is reporting that the Japanese automaker, which was slow to embrace …