Toyota will spend $2.1 billion to create a new battery plant in North Carolina, the latest hint that the automaker is trying to catch up with the electric vehicle sector.
On Wednesday, the Japanese carmaker announced it will construct its first electric SUV in Kentucky in 2025. North Carolina-made Toyota batteries will power the three-row automobile.
Toyota appears to be increasing its EV commitment. The corporation has supported hydrogen-powered automobiles instead of EVs. Toyota announced earlier this year that it would launch ten new battery-powered vehicles and sell 1.5 million EVs by 2026.
The company’s renewed commitment to electrification includes the North Carolina battery factory. However, only two of six production lines will produce all-electric EVs in 2025. Hybrid EVs get the other four.
Toyota’s plant’s gigawatt-hour capacity is unknown. However, the business has claimed to create 1.2 million vehicle batteries annually.
The increasing capital spent on a U.S. battery factory shows government incentives to encourage battery manufacturers are work. In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act gave U.S. battery manufacturers incentives. As a result, Ford, General Motors, BMW, and Hyundai pledged to start U.S. production in the coming years.
Toyota first announced its U.S. factory in 2021. The Japanese automaker allocated $1.3 billion for a Greensboro factory. Toyota invested $3.8 billion last September. Toyota has invested $5.9 billion.