Toyota is investing an extra $2.5 billion in a U.S. facility that will manufacture batteries for “green vehicles”, the company said on Wednesday.
Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina is set to start operations in 2025 manufacturing both batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles.
The giant automaker will boost its planned investment from $1.29 billion to $3.8 billion, in response to rising consumer demand for electric vehicles and to move forward in the increasingly competitive market where Tesla and Volkswagen are leaders.
The additional investment in the U.S. is part of a wider investment of up to $5.6 billion in battery production.
Battery manufacturer Panasonic will be a partner in the plant through its Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES) joint venture with Toyota, said Norm Bafunno, senior vice president at Toyota Motor North America.
Panasonic also has a joint project with Tesla in Nevada and recently announced plans to build a $4 billion plant in Kansas to provide for Honda electric vehicles.
Just last week, the California Air Resources Board approved a rule that will require all new car sales in the state to be zero emission by the year 2035.
