Toyota announced plans to invest around $3.4 billion in a new US-based battery plant for its upcoming electric vehicles today. The new facility is going to be operational by 2025 and is supposed to help the Japanese car maker make its transition to an all-electric line-up a bit easier.
This is part of Toyota’s global efforts in the EV space, worth about $13.5 billion in total, destined solely for battery development and production. Furthermore, the company is planning to keep its investments going past 2030, in adjacent areas as well, not just the process of assembling batteries. The project includes an investment of approximately $1.29 billion until 2031, which includes funds that will be used to develop land and build facilities, resulting in the creation of 1,750 new American jobs.
“Toyota’s commitment to electrification is about achieving long-term sustainability for the environment, American jobs and consumers,” said Ted Ogawa, chief executive officer, Toyota Motor North America. “This investment will help usher in more affordable electrified vehicles for U.S. consumers, significantly reduce carbon emissions, and importantly, create even more American jobs tied to the future of mobility.”
At first, the new US-based venture will focus on creating batteries for the hybrid vehicles in the line-up but, on the longer run, it will also become providential in creating a dependable supply chain for the local plants. Additionally, the move is expected to help advance the company’s efforts towards carbon neutrality in a sustainable way.
But what cars will be using these new batteries exactly? According to Toyota, the line-up of the Japanese car manufacturer will change drastically by 2025, including over 70 electrified cars by then. Of these 70, 15 will be purely electric while seven will be part of Toyota’s future Beyond Zero line-up. By 2030, Toyota expects to sell two million zero emission vehicles (BEVs and FCEVs) globally, and in the U.S., the company expects to sell between 1.5 million to 1.8 million electrified vehicles, including ZEV models.
