Toyota Building Battery Facility In North Carolina

Joining EV startup Arrival in building a battery facility in North Carolina, in the US, is Japanese giant Toyota which has been reluctant towards EVs for years, but quickly is now turning turtle and starting to invest in the future of mobility. Toyota has been against electric cars but rather has pushed hydrogen fuel cell based vehicles aside from traditional internal combustion engine based products. But with global warming and aggressive emissions regulations coming into effect in Europe it hasn't just announced its latest EV, the BZ4xbut also announced that it will be selling zero emissions vehicles in the EU by 2035. 

"Toyota Motor Corp. is set to invest $1.25 billion and create 1,750 jobs with a new electric-vehicle battery plant in rural North Carolina, according to a public incentives deal approved Monday," reported the Wall Street Journal which is yet another major investment from the world's largest automaker in the last month. 

Already the government has approved a $435 million package for the project and with the BZ4x coming in next year, this could be used for producing batteries for the impressive EV. Toyota isn't stopping here as it even has a $30,000 EV in development which will also be part of the BZ family of electric cars based on the BYD battery cell technology. 

Akio Toyoda is the scion of the Toyota family and has been against EVs 

Toyota likely will not bet the farm on EVs as this facility will be leveraged for hybrid cars as well. It still hasn't announced a full transition to electric mobility globally unlike the likes of Ford, GM, Daimler, Stellantis which means that hybrids are going to be a big part of its strategy. 

Production of batteries at this facility is a while away though. The BZ4x is initially going to be made in Japan and will eventually also have US manufacturing because this plant will get operational only in 2025. Overall, Toyota is investing $13 billion in battery manufacturing. 

This is quite an about turn by Toyota as its CEO Akio Toyoda has been critical of electric cars and only investor pushback has forced its hand alongside the fact that the worlds is moving in that direction with Toyota falling behind.