For several years it was almost as if Toyota was waiting to see if electric cars would really take off. Nowadays though, we are more inclined to view the Toyota electric car strategy as a smart waiting game. Especially with talk of a ‘performance’ solid-state battery delivering a 750 mile driving range. We examine how Toyota plans to achieve this and other goals.
Toyota’s Strategy to Crack the Electric Car Market
The Japanese motor manufacturer revealed its strategy a year ago, in a far reaching announcement we link to below. The Toyota electric car strategy described there, includes several complementary projects:
- Serve three markets progressively with three new liquid electrolyte batteries.
- Break through the current barriers, and shift across to solid-state battery production.
- Lower the height of battery packs to reduce wind resistance, and increase driving range.
Toyota’s Three Liquid Electrolyte Strategies
- ROLL OUT AN UPDATED UNIPOLAR PERFORMANCE MODEL (2026)
The next generation Toyota performance SUV for 2026 should deliver a 750 mile driving range on a ‘performance’ lithium-ion battery. The company claims a 20% cost reduction compared to their current bZ4X BEV model. Plus they predict 20 minute charging time from 10% to 80%.
- INTRODUCE A LOWER COST BIPOLAR OFFERING (2026 – 2027)
This option promotes Toyota as an affordable supplier of electric transport. It deploys a bipolar nickel-metal-hydride ‘popularization’ battery, using inexpensive lithium iron phosphate as core material. This should increase driving range by 20%, and reduce cost by 40% compared to the concept Toyota bZ4X. Moreover, the battery should charge from 10% to 80% in 30 minutes.
- INTRODUCE A HIGH PERFORMANCE BIPOLAR BATTERY (2027 – 2028)
This offering promises a ‘high performance’ bipolar battery combining lithium-ion chemistry with a high-nickel cathode. Toyota says this combination should deliver a 620 mile driving range, plus be 20% cheaper than the ‘performance’ version. Rapid charging in 20 minutes from 10% to 80% completes the specification for the third option in Toyota’s electric car strategy, excluding their solid state program, which we review in our next post.
More Information
Toyota Battery Technology – Secret’s Out!
Impact of Toyota’s Solid-State Batteries
