Toyota announced that its all-solid-state battery under development could be available in all of its battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as early as 2027.
In addition, the next-generation BEVs will be equipped with Toyota's self-developed Operating System (OS) and Over-the-Air (OTA) functions. Toyota will also strengthen promotions of hydrogen fuel cell systems to meet the rapidly growing hydrogen energy market.
NHK and Kyodo News reported that Toyota's original plan was to use all-solid-state batteries in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which require less battery capacity, by 2025. But now Toyota has revised its plan to use all-solid-state batteries in BEVs by 2027 or 2028. This is due to the rising demand for BEVs and Toyota's decision to skip the oil-electric hybrid phase.
Other major Japanese automakers, such as Nissan, are scheduled to go all-electric in 2028 (2028/4-2029/3), and Honda is scheduled to reach that goal in the second half of this decade. Toyota's decision will intensify the competition for all-solid-state batteries.
In Toyota's vision, the next-generation battery, combined with sonic technology, could give pure EVs a cruising range of up to 1,000 km.
Toyota also plans to launch its next generation of BEVs in 2026, reducing R&D and production costs to half of what they are today by improving production processes and reducing investment in production lines. This is the business of BEV Factory, a dedicated organization within Toyota for pure electric vehicles.
Toyota aims to produce 3.5 million zero-carbon emission vehicles such as BEVs by 2030, of which 1.7 million will be next-generation BEVs produced by BEV Factory.
The next generation of electric vehicles will also be equipped with Toyota's in-car OS called Arene and full OTA functionality.
In addition, Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle Mirai has limited sales, but Toyota has not given up on the development of hydrogen fuel cells.
Toyota will sell the Mirai-based hydrogen fuel cell unit to the public, with the goal of reaching 100,000 units per year by 2030, mainly for large trucks and buses, small commercial vehicles, and passenger cars.
Toyota estimates that the market for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will reach 5 trillion yen (US$36 billion) per year by 2030, including in-vehicle, domestic, and industrial applications.
Article translated by Judy Lin
