Toyota is already the worldwide leader in sales for hybrid vehicles – but Toyota recently announced that it intends to introduce 10 new models and begin producing one million hybrids a year. In order to make this possible, Toyota will need a significant supply of lithium to power its new wave of hybrid vehicles.
As part of its plan to produce one million hybrid vehicles per year starting in 2011 – doubling its current rate – Toyota has formed a deal with a large lithium production facility in Argentina.
In order to make the deal possible, Toyota utilized its international trading arm – Toyota Tsusho Corp., to acquire a 25 percent stake in a $80-100 million project in return for a guaranteed supply of lithium, according to Edmunds. The lithium mining project covers 118 square kilometers of tenements over a salt lake that is infamous for its extremely high values of lithium in brine.
Orocobre, the Australian company that specializes in lithium production, is running the project and says that the site has full access to electricity, gas pipelines and rail – making it an ideal location for massive excavation and exportation of lithium for Toyota.
Due to Toyota’s fast-paced projections for increased hybrid production, expect lithium to begin flowing out of Argentina and into Toyota vehicles in 2010.
