Toyota Unveils New Battery Technology and Plans for Electric Vehicle Innovation

Toyota Motor Corp. announced on Tuesday that it would introduce high-performance solid-state batteries and other technologies to improve the range and reduce costs of future electric vehicles, making it a strategic pivot that sent shares higher.
The Japanese giant’s technology roadmap covers various aspects such as next-generation battery development and a radical redesign of its factory to compete in a burgeoning EV market that lags behind its Tesla-led rivals. The company’s plans have been revealed to the fullest extent possible. .
The plan came a day before the company’s annual shareholder meeting, which will scrutinize governance and strategy, including a slow shift toward battery electric vehicles under former CEO Akio Toyoda, Reuters reports. rice field.
Shares of the world’s best-selling automaker soared 5% on the day to 2,173 yen, the highest since August.
Toyota said it aims to launch next-generation lithium-ion batteries from 2026 that offer longer cruising range and faster charging.
He also touted a “technical breakthrough” in addressing the durability issue of all-solid-state batteries, and said it was developing a means to mass-produce batteries with a view to commercialization in 2027-2028.
All-solid-state batteries can hold more energy than current liquid-electrolyte batteries. Automakers and analysts hope to accelerate the transition to EVs by addressing a key consumer concern: range.
Still, such batteries are expensive and can last for years. Toyota intends to sidestep the risk with higher-performing lithium iron phosphate batteries, a cheaper alternative to the lithium-ion batteries that have fueled the proliferation of EVs in China, the world’s largest car market.
Toyota said it will produce EVs with more efficient lithium-ion batteries and a range of 1,000 km (621 miles) in the high-end market. By comparison, the world’s best-selling EV, the long-range version of the Tesla Model Y powered by lithium-ion batteries, can run about 530 kilometers under U.S. standards.
According to Toyota, the all-solid-state battery EV has a range of 1,200 km and a charging time of just 10 minutes. By comparison, the Tesla Supercharger network, the largest of its kind, provides the equivalent of 321 km of charging in 15 minutes.
Toyota did not provide details about the expected costs or necessary investments for the project.
Engineers at automakers have been considering rebooting their EV strategy since last year to be more competitive.
A roadmap detailed on Tuesday showed that under new CEO Koji Sato, Toyota has opted for many of the refinements that engineers and planners have spent months developing.
This includes using electric axles and other technology from suppliers such as Aisin and Denso.
“What we want to achieve is to change the future with BEVs,” said Takeo Kato, president of Toyota’s new EV division, BEV Factory, in a video posted to Toyota’s YouTube channel on Tuesday.
Toyota has developed a purpose-built EV platform to reduce the cost of new models and a highly automated assembly line that will do away with the conveyor belt system that has defined car production since Henry Ford over 100 years ago. said there is.
On Toyota’s “self-propelled” assembly lines, the cars being produced drive themselves through the process.