Toyota Motor is planning to build an EV battery plant for its Lexus brand in the Japanese island of Kyushu, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei.
Kyushu, also known as Japan’s ‘Silicon Island’, will act as an export base to Asia for the OEM, and will help localise its EV supply chain as the island is home to suppliers of semiconductors, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) which has a plant nearby in Kumamoto.
According to the newspaper, Toyota is planning to build the plant on land at an industrial park just 40km from its Miyata plant, which assembles Lexus vehicles. The OEM’s battery manufacturing subsidiary Primearth EV Energy is set to operate the new battery facility once built.
A spokesperson from Toyota said: “Toyota has been making various efforts to increase its production capacity of batteries for BEVs. We are aware that there have been such reports, but we have not made any public announcement regarding such projects.”
In September 2022, the OEM said it would invest 730 billion yen ($5.2 billion) at sites in Japan and the United States to expand EV battery production with the additional output becoming available sometime between 2024 and 2026. The carmaker picked its largest US manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Kentucky for the assembly of its three-row battery electric SUV last year, with production set to start in 2025.
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