Competition among global automakers entering the region is intensifying amid expectations that the U.S. electric car market, which is somewhat behind, will gradually grow with the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration, which promotes environmental protection. Toyota Motor Company has come up with a plan to build its first electric vehicle battery production plant in the U.S.
According to the Nikkei, Toyota announced on the 18th (local time) that it would build a new battery production plant for electric vehicles in the United States. It aims to operate in 2025 by establishing a new company in the United States in the form of joint investment with Toyota Trading, a general trading company. Toyota’s U.S. subsidiary accounts for 90% of the investment ratio and Toyota’s trade accounts for 10%.
Toyota plans to pour a total of $3.4 billion into the production of U.S. automobile batteries by 2030, including investment in new factories. First of all, $1.29 billion will be invested in the construction of a new battery plant in the U.S., which will begin production in 2025.
This is the first time Toyota has built a battery plant for electric vehicles in the United States. Initially, it plans to produce lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles, then manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, and gradually increase production by 2031. Toyota did not disclose details such as where the new plant will be built, but announced that it will hire 1,750 new people for the new plant.
Competition among global automakers such as Toyota to take the lead in the electric vehicle market such as the U.S. is intensifying in the era of de-carbonization. In particular, the Financial Times (FT) diagnosed that as President Biden announced his plan to make 50 percent of the new cars sold in the U.S. by 2030, automakers are struggling to match them.
