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The Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp.is ramping up development and production of the key components needed for hybrid and electric vehicles, announcing on Monday its plans to invest $3.4 billion in the US through 2030, USA Today reports.
Toyota plans include building a $1.3 billion battery plant that will employ 1,750 US workers to produce its own automotive lithium-ion batteries to power Toyota’s hybrids and EVs, and it aims to start production there by 2025.
Though Toyota spokesman Scott Vazin refused to unveil the new plant’s location, it’s expected that the company would likely reveal it by the end of 2021.
The chief executive officer of Toyota Motor North America, Ted Ogawa, said in a statement that Toyota’s investment will help usher in more affordable EVs for US consumers, significantly reduce carbon emissions, and importantly, create even more American jobs.
Though it has been critical of governments’ push to transition to EVs, Toyota has also acknowledged it must invest in battery-powered cars to remain competitive.
After drawing criticism from environmental groups for failing to join the shift to battery-powered vehicles, Toyota is now making its biggest bet ever on that technology with its first battery-powered vehicle- the bZ4X crossover- that will go into production next year in Japan and China and be sold worldwide in 2022.
Toyota also announced it will have about 70 “electrified” models, including 15 battery electric vehicles, available in global markets by 2025.
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