Toyota announces EV and battery push

Toyota is developing and making electric vehicles and EV batteries in China, under a new partnership with the Shanghai government.

Toyota Motor Corp also announced it will start producing batteries for EVs, hybrids and plug-ins at a new US$14 billion facility in North Carolina, with shipping starting for North American models in April.

The moves highlight Toyota’s aggressive push in electric cars, a sector where some critics have said it’s fallen behind rivals like Tesla and BYD at a time when the Chinese EV market is booming and the world’s concerns about sustainability are increasingly crucial.

Toyota is setting up a company in Jinshan district in southwest Shanghai for that effort, with production of the new Lexus EVs starting in 2027.

Initial production capacity there totals 100,000 vehicles a year, which will create about 1,000 jobs, the world’s top automaker said. The battery plant in the US will create some 5,000 jobs, according to Toyota.

“We have always tried to be a company that will be loved wherever we do our business. That has never waffled,” Chief Financial Officer Yoichi Miyazaki told reporters without addressing the tariffs.

Also, Toyota reported that fiscal third quarter profit jumped 61 per cent previous fiscal year to ¥2.19 trillion (US$14 billion), on ¥12.4 trillion (US$81 billion) sales, up three per cent year-on-year.

Officials of the Japanese automaker said sales were recovering from the drop earlier this fiscal year after some production was suspended over a certification scandal in Japan.

Last year, Toyota acknowledged wide-ranging fraudulent testing, including the use of inadequate or outdated data in crash tests, incorrect testing of airbag inflation and engine power checks. The wrongdoing did not affect the safety of the vehicles, and only affected production in Japan.

Toyota revised its profit forecast for the full fiscal year through to March 2025 to ¥4.5 trillion (US$29 billion) from the previous projection for a ¥3.6 trillion (US$24 billion) profit, thanks to the positive effect of the foreign exchange rate and cost reduction efforts. The new projection still falls short of what Toyota racked up the previous fiscal year at ¥4.9 trillion.

The new company in China is part of Toyota’s drive to meet the high demand for EVs in China, according to Toyota. Toyota already has China FAW Group Co. and Guangzhou Automobile Group Company as its long-time partners in China, and those will continue unchanged, he said.

Toyota said it hopes to contribute to the Chinese government’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

“Local Chinese members will take the lead in planning and developing BEVs that match the unique needs of Chinese customers. Our goal is to become a company that is more loved and supported by the people of China,” said Miyazaki.

AP