The Japanese car manufacturer has announced that they will build a special battery factory for Lexus electric models.
Although it is focusing on hybrids, Toyota plans to build a battery factory for electric vehicles in the Fukuoka region of southwestern Japan. At the same time, the company wants to supply these batteries to a factory that produces luxury Lexus cars, according to Klix.ba.
The world’s largest carmaker wanted to turn the country’s third-largest island, Kyushu, home to the city and region of Fukuoka, into a central part of the electric vehicle supply chain and an export base for the Asian market. On the same island, in the Mijata factory, Lexus cars are produced. Toyota has strategically planned to penetrate more intensively in the field of electric cars through its luxury sub-brand and plans to build a battery factory for Lexus cars.
The automaker previously said it will introduce next-generation battery electric vehicles globally starting in 2026, and they will be produced by its EV-focused BEV Factory division.
Toyota has an ambitious goal of selling 3.5 million electric cars (a third of total sales) each year by 2030, of which just under half will be produced locally by the BEV Factory. Since Toyota sold only 104,000 electric vehicles in 2023, and as much as they are focused on hybrids, they are aware that this is a modest figure that they need to increase to reach the competition. This especially applies to rivals from China, since European manufacturers have slowed down the development of battery vehicles.
The amount that Toyota would invest in the new battery factory and the start date of construction has not yet been determined. However, it is currently known that the plant will be operated by Primeearth EV Energy, another subsidiary of Toyota that specializes in the production of batteries for hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and pure electric vehicles.