- The new unit, named BEV Factory, aims to produce electric vehicles with a range of up to 1,000 km.
- The BEV industry will launch a full line of battery electric vehicles with “next-generation” batteries from 2026.
- It continues the Japanese automaker’s aggressive push toward all-electric vehicles under new CEO Koji Sato.
A display of Toyota electrified vehicles at the 2022 New York Auto Show on April 13, 2022.
Scott Mill | CNBC
Shares of Japanese automaker Toyota rose 5% on Tuesday after the company announced it will launch a full line of battery electric vehicles with “next-generation” batteries from 2026.
These will be developed and manufactured by a new EV unit called the BEV Factory, which was set up in May.
In a presentation on Tuesday, Takero Kato, President of BEV Factory Toyota is targeting a driving range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) for its EVs. Cato said the BEV industry aims to produce around 1.7 million vehicles by 2030.
In comparison, the Tesla Model 3 has a range of about 430 kilometers, while the long-range model has a range of about 570 kilometers.
Toyota aims to sell 1.5 million fully electric vehicles annually by 2026 and 3.5 million fully electric vehicles annually by 2030.
Separately, the company is developing a method to mass-produce all-solid-state batteries for battery electric vehicles, and aims to commercialize this in 2027 to 2028. It will search A 20% improvement in travel range for its all-solid-state batteries compared to current batteries.
It has a high-specification model under research and development. The model aims for a 50% improvement in cruising range compared to the current product.
More importantly, Toyota said it has discovered a technological breakthrough that overcomes the battery life challenge in all its solid-state batteries. [its] Development as a battery for BEVs.”
HEVs refer to hybrid electric vehicles, which are vehicles powered by a conventional internal combustion engine combined with one or more electric motors.
This will mark a continued shift in the automaker’s EV strategy under new CEO Koji Sato, who took the helm in April. In February, Sato said the company would “accelerate the development of BEVs with a different approach than before.” Nikki said.
Under previous CEO Akio Toyota, Toyota came under fire for a slow approach to all-electric cars, instead sticking to the belief that all electric vehicles are one. A solution, not a solution, to the company’s goal of becoming carbon neutral. This strategy lasted until the end of 2022, when it released new hybrid Prius models.
Toyota executives have argued that they don’t believe all-electric vehicles will be as readily adopted as rivals think, citing roadblocks and the market being “not mature enough.”
On its website, Toyota says: The materials can be used to make six plug-in hybrid vehicle batteries or 90 hybrid electric vehicle batteries to make one long-range, all-electric vehicle battery.
A more aggressive push for all-electric vehicles can be seen in Kato’s presentation, as the head of the BEV factory said “Our mission is to change the future with BEVs … The next generation of battery EVs will adopt new batteries, so we are determined to be the world leader in battery EV energy consumption.”
