Toyota , the world’s biggest automaker, is planning to build two manufacturing plants in a partnership with consumer electronics giant Matsushita. The plants will build batteries for hybrid vehicles and other environmentally-friendly cars, upping total production to 1 million annually by 2011. The plants will be built by Panasonic EV Energy Co., a joint venture of the two companies and, along with an upgrade in an existing facility, are reported to cost 70 billion yen (about $685 million).
The plan calls for a new nickel-metal hydride plant costing close to 30 billion yen built in Taiwa, Miyagi Prefecture, that would start operations in 2011, as per Automotive News. The output would be 300,000 batteries per year. A 10 billion yen plant that would build lithium-ion batteries would be added to an existing facility in Kosai, Shizuoka, along with the remaining 30 million used for boosting output of nickel-metal hydride batteries at the same facility. The measures would double last year’s Panasonic EV battery production of 500,000 units.
Unlike other manufacturers, which seem to be backing the lithium-ion battery technology, Toyota is hedging its bets, sticking to its proven nickel tech, as used in the current Prius. The next-gen Prius will also likely use the older-style batteries, while its Lexus counterpart is expected to switch to lithium-ion cells.
