Toyota Motor Corp. plans to spend ¥1.5 trillion ($13.7 billion) on the development and supply of batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles by 2030, joining other global automakers in boosting investments in anticipation of greater demand.
The world’s No. 1 automaker will commit roughly ¥1 trillion for production lines, Toyota executives announced at an online briefing Tuesday. It will also seek to set up 70 EV battery lines by 2030 and is aiming to secure 200 gWh of battery supply by then, up from its previous goal of 180 gWh.
BMW AG disclosed Monday that it will increase orders for battery cells to more than €20 billion ($23.8 billion), up from €12 billion previously. While Toyota’s moves appear slight compared to Volkswagen AG’s $29 billion push to build six battery factories in Europe for a total of 240 gWh by the end of the decade, they do reflect a more bullish stance from the Japanese automaker — which in the past had questioned whether the high cost of electric vehicles would inhibit their near-term spread.
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