Toyota has made further commitments to EV battery production in the US. The automaker announced on October 31 that it will invest an additional US$8 billion into its battery plant in North Carolina, increasing the annual production capacity to 30GWh.
The battery factory in Liberty, North Carolina, has been under construction since last year and is expected to begin mass production in 2025. Toyota said in a statement that the US$8 billion will bring the total investment of the project to nearly US$13.9 billion and create another 3,000 jobs.
The carmaker plans to add eight battery and plug-in hybrid EV battery production lines, increasing the total lines to 10. Toyota previously said that the facility will also host four battery lines for hybrid EVs. The production will grow phase by phase and reach 30GWh annually in 2030.
According to Kyodo and Bloomberg, batteries produced at the North Carolina plant will power multiple EV models that Toyota aims to manufacture in North America, including a new battery SUV scheduled to be made in the carmaker's plant in Kentucky.
Toyota said it has put more than 24.6 million HEVs, PHEVs, BEVs and fuel cell EVs on the road globally. The company aims to offer an electrified option for every Toyota and Lexus model worldwide by 2025.
Toyota has set up a goal to sell 1.5 million BEVs globally by 2026 and raise the number to 3.5 million in 2030. A limited number of FCEVs are included.
To ensure the battery supply, Toyota signed an agreement with South Korean LG Energy Solution in early October. LGES plans to invest US$3 billion in its Michigan plant to build dedicated battery production lines for Toyota.
