Toyota’s Newly Revealed EV Plans Include 900-Mile Batteries

Under pressure from critics and investors alike, the Japanese carmaker appears to step up its electrification game.

Toyota C-HR Prologue concept (2022)

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

Jun 13, 2023 at 4:12am ET

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Toyota has been under constant fire from environmentalists and shareholders in the previous 12 months because of its feet-dragging approach to the electrification of its lineup. But now it’s fighting back with an ambitious plan that envisions EVs with over 600 miles (965 kilometers) of range from 2026 and around 900 miles (1,448 km) on a single charge after 2028.

The Japanese car group’s newly revealed plans mention that the first of the next-generation EV will debut in 2026 as a Lexus, using a next-gen lithium-ion battery that offers over 600 miles of driving range on a single charge, as reported by Automotive News.

The next step, slated for 2026-2027, involves a bipolar lithium iron phosphate battery that can reduce costs by 40 percent compared to the previous iteration, while an advanced bipolar lithium iron battery with 10 percent more range is scheduled to go into production in 2027-2028.

With this technology, Toyota estimates it will churn out around 1.7 million EVs based on the newly developed, purpose-built architecture by 2030, which will benefit from solid-state batteries starting in 2027.

According to the Japanese brand, these can increase range by 20 percent over its next-gen lithium-ion packs, while an advanced solid-state battery that’s scheduled to make an appearance after 2028 will be able to boost range by 50 percent, resulting in over 900 miles (1,448 km) of zero-emissions driving.

But that’s not all, because Toyota wants to deploy giga casting technologies to simplify and accelerate vehicle production, taking inspiration from Tesla’s Giga Presses, and aims to develop ultra-aerodynamic designs with a drag coefficient under 0.20 in the next two to three years.

Gallery: 2023 Toyota bZ4X: Review

2023 Toyota bZ4X

The multi-point plan was laid out by Toyota’s top executives for the first time this month at the company’s Higashi-Fuji Technical Center under the theme “Let’s change the future of cars.” At the presentation, the company’s representatives pointed out that, contrary to being left behind, Toyota has both the technology and the production system needed to deliver industry-leading EVs starting in 2026.

"We are determined to be the world leader in batteries," Chief Technology Officer Hiroki Nakajima said. "We will need various options for batteries, just like we have different variations of engines. It is important to make these batteries compatible with any kind of model."

It’s worth mentioning that while the Japanese automaker wants to massively improve its EV footprint, including building zero-emission vehicles in the United States from 2025, it will continue to develop and manufacture internal combustion engine cars, as well as hydrogen-powered vehicles.

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Toyota currently has just one EV on sale in the United States, the bZ4X crossover, which has a starting price of $42,000 and offers an EPA-estimated range of 252 miles.

As always, we’d like to know what you think about this, so head over to the comments section below to give us your thoughts.