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Toyota Motor Corp. raised the amount of investment for its electric vehicle battery plants in the United States and Japan to almost double than originally planned. The Japanese automaker is now spending $5.6 billion to set up its new manufacturing facilities.
Toyota Motor announced earlier that it would invest $1.29 billion for the construction of its EV battery plant in North Carolina under the Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina (TBMNC), which is 90% owned by Toyota Motor North America, Inc. The amount has now been raised to around $2.5 billion or ¥325 billion, and partly, this was due to the fact that the consumer demand for electric vehicles has been continuously growing lately.
As per Reuters, Panasonic will be one of the automaker’s partners in its plant in the U.S. They will be working together under their Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Co. Ltd. (PPES) joint venture firm. This Liberty plant in North Carolina is expected to open in 2025 and will provide expertise in battery production technology, according to Toyota Motor North America’s senior vice president of powertrain manufacturing and engineering, Norm Bafunno.
In Japan, the company is set to spend a total of ¥400 billion or about $3 billion, and this will be used for the PPES’ Himeji Plant in the country. Part of the fund will also be allocated to other Toyota plants and properties.
“With these investments, Toyota intends to increase its combined battery production capacity in Japan and the United States by up to 40 GWh,” Toyota Motor said in a press release. “By utilizing the Toyota Production System and building production lines that are more efficient than ever, Toyota also intends to further strengthen its competitiveness and invest in the training of personnel engaged in battery production and the passing down of monozukuri manufacturing skills.”
Fox Business further quoted the company as saying in another statement that this latest investment is to enable Toyota Motor to become flexible and easily meet the demands and needs of its customers in various countries and regions by providing multiple powertrains and offering as many options as it can.
