The Japanese company joined the electric vehicle (EV) party late, but it has big plans for new models and the most advanced battery technology. In 30 different Toyota and Lexus car lines, it plans to sell 3.5 million EVs every year by 2030. Long-range power packs will be able to go up to 500 miles by 2026 and 620 miles by 2027. Toyota plans to release solid-state batteries in 2027. These batteries can be charged from 0% to 80% in 10 minutes. Toyota just revealed that it has now made more than 300 million cars since its beginning 88 years ago. The Toyota bZ4X and Lexus RZ450e have only recently hit the market, even though Toyota was one of the first companies to use hybrid powertrains. This shows that Toyota has a lot of doubts about electric cars (EVs). Toyota is one of the newest big car companies to get into the EV business. Since new CEO Koji Sato took over, Toyota, on the other hand, has put a lot of money into electric cars in order to beat rivals with a bunch of new models and cutting-edge battery technology. The three-row SUV shown above will be one of the first new electric cars. Starting in 2025, it will be made at Toyota’s plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, and aimed at the same market segment as the Kia EV9. Toyota says that the batteries for this new car will be made at its factories in Liberty, North Carolina. Two thousand people work at the company right now, but that number will probably go up to five thousand soon. Toyota thinks it will be able to produce 30 gigawatt hours of batteries in North Carolina by 2030. That’s the equivalent of 375,000 80.0-kWh packs. But production will be split into ten lines so that packs of different sizes can be made for plug-in hybrid and electric car types. By the time four more lines make straight hybrid packs, most, if not all, of Toyota’s products will have been blended. Toyota plans to make 30 different types of electric cars under the Toyota and Lexus brands, and 3.5 million of them every year by 2030. It looks like a big chunk of those will be made in the United States. C/D recently went to Toyota’s Shimoyama research site in Japan and learned more. This shows that the company’s battery technology is also likely to make big steps forward. The Toyota FT-Se and Lexus LF-ZC concepts shown at this year’s Tokyo car show hint at the first evolution: a next-generation lithium-ion battery that is very small, very powerful, and made to fit under the floors of sedans and coupes without adding too much height. Engineers at Toyota say that the smallest form of the battery pack will only be 3.9 inches tall. This is possible in part because connectors are placed on the sides instead of the top. Batteries that charge quickly and have a range of 400 miles… Toyota says this performance pack will be 20% cheaper than the pack for the bZ4X and possibly in 2026. It will also allow a quick charge time of 20 minutes between 10% and 80%. The experts we talked to thought that its structure would be 900 volts. With this performance pack put in the most fuel-efficient car and set up to its fullest, the EPA says the range will be more than 400 miles. (The picture above shows range estimates based on the less strict WLTP standard. However, the real EPA range estimates are often 15% lower. Because of this, we lowered Toyota’s range claims so they are in line with other EVs you can buy in the US. Low-cost batteries that are small A cheaper next-generation pack with a new bipolar internal design and lithium-iron-phosphate battery (LFP) chemistry will come out soon after. The cathode and anode of a bipolar battery are both on the same current collector. This saves room and makes it possible to have a higher energy density than a standard monopolar battery, which has separate cathode and anode pieces. Toyota says that this first bipolar pack will charge in about 30 minutes, cost 40% less than the battery in the bX4X, and have a range of about 315 miles at full charge. Toyota thinks that a high-performance bipolar pack with a high nickel cathode and a return to lithium-ion chemistry in 2027 will finally be able to live up to its 520-mile range claim. The price will be 10% less than the performance battery, and it should be able to charge back to 10% to 80% in 20 minutes under ideal circumstances. The Solid-State Battery That Everyone Wants (coming in 2027) Toyota also says that solid-state batteries will be on the market as early as 2027. But the date that was originally set for 2025 has now passed. Instead of liquid electrolytes, solid-state batteries use solid electrolytes. This makes them lighter, more energy-dense, and better able to handle high temperatures and voltages. The problem is that it’s hard to make sure it will last for a long time and is expensive. Toyota says that its first-generation solid-state packs will likely be able to go 630 miles in the future, with a 10-minute 10-to-80 charge time. The company does say that the first goal for the packs is to have a range of 520 miles. That is enough to convince even the staunchest EV hater that electric cars can be used for long trips. If Toyota keeps all of these promises, it will go from being at the back of the electric car pack to being in the lead. The company is known for making small claims, but it says it wants to make 3.5 million electric cars a year across 30 different Toyota and Lexus model lines by 2030, so we can’t say they need to try harder.
