Toyota plans to produce next-generation lithium batteries in Japan on hold

Toyota is revising its timeline and the scope of operations for lithium battery production in Japan in the face of slowing demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

The carmaker was planning to sign a location agreement on a battery facility in Kyushu in April this year and have it up and running in by 2028, supplying longer-range batteries for its next generation of BEVs. However, it is now reported to have postponed the plans and is revising the kind of batteries it will make, as well as what will be the installed annual capacity.

According to Nikkei Asia, the governor of Fukuoka prefecture, Seitaro Hattori, expects to sign a location agreement by the autumn but it is unknown what impact the change will have on the planned start of operations in 2028. The news source said Toyota will eventually move forward with constructions but will reconsider the products manufactured at the site, as well as the scale.

Toyota has not made its revised plans public. In a statement sent to Automotive Logistics it said: “We will continue to discuss the optimal way to produce in Kyushu from the perspective of how the Toyota Group can continue to grow sustainably with the people of the Kyushu region, while considering BEV demand trends and the impact of rising material prices.”

Following its takeover of Primearth EV Energy last year Toyota renamed the business Toyota Battery and held a launch event at Kosai Battery Park, part of its Arai plant, in October. At that event, the president of Toyota Battery, Masamichi Okada, said the company will contribute to a multi-pathway strategy to supply batteries for hybrid, plug-in and pure battery EVs, as well as secondary batteries for fuel cell vehicles.

In charge overseas
The Japanese carmaker is progressing with EV and battery developments elsewhere. In its financial results briefing for Q3 it said it is launching a new company in China for development and local production of Lexus BEVs and batteries, with production scheduled to begin in 2027 “or beyond” beginning with capacity for 100,000 vehicles, and expanding from there. While current production operations in China are joint ventures with local manufacturers, the new company will be entirely funded by Toyota, according to the company.

Toyota also announced it was opening its first overseas in-house battery manufacturing facility in the US – Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina (TBMNC). The $14 billion plant is set to begin shipping batteries in April this year. As reported last month, the batteries will be supplied to plants in North America making hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure battery electric vehicles. The first shipment of battery packs will go to Toyota Kentucky for the Camry hybrid.