Reuters reports that LG Energy Solution is teaming up with Toyota to use the former Ultium Lansing battery plant to build high-nickel NCMA battery modules for future electric models from the Japanese automaker. The goal is for the brand’s EVs built in the USA to use the batteries produced at this facility.
“At Toyota, our goal is to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible, as fast as possible,” said Tetsuo “Ted” Ogawa, president and CEO of Toyota Motor North America. “Having secure supplies of lithium-ion batteries at scale with a long-term relationship to support Toyota’s multi-pathway approach and growth plans for BEVs in North America is critical to achieve our manufacturing and carbon reduction plans. Working with LG Energy Solution, we are excited to be able to offer products that will provide the performance and quality our customers expect.”
It’s speculated that Toyota’s first American-made EV at its Georgetown, Kentucky plant will be a new crossover called the bZ5X. It will be bigger than the existing bZ4X, a Chevy Equinox EV rival, and likely have three-row seating rivaling the likes of the Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9 (which are also assembled in the States).
“We’re excited to have Toyota, the best-selling global automaker, as our new customer. With our 30 years of experience in lithium-ion batteries, we will provide innovative power solutions to support Toyota’s push further into battery electric vehicles,” said Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy Solution. “The agreement also presents another big opportunity for us to strengthen our production capacity in North America, thereby bringing more real-life, large-scale progress toward electrification in the region.”
Toyota’s current plan is to offer 30 BEV models globally across its two brands and produce up to 3.5 million BEVs annually by 2030. Some have criticized Toyota’s slow entry into the EV space in favor of hybrids, but slower-than-expected EV sales have shown that the automaker’s cautious EV rollout was prudent.
We reported in December that GM is selling its stake in the Ultium Cells battery plant in Michigan. The sale doesn’t affect GM’s ownership interest in the Ultium Cells LLC joint venture with LG Energy Solution. GM is continuing to source EV batteries from existing battery production facilities in Warren, Ohio and Spring Hill, Tennessee.
Comments
What a strange situation for GM. On one hand, they’re happy to get rid of the expensive plant they don’t need. On the other hand, they’re giving a competitor ready-made battery cell production plant so they can play catch up.
Toyota isn’t really a legitimate player in the EV world at the moment and one plant isn’t going to give them a leg up on the competition when the best they can do is the poor-selling bZ4x and it’s nearly identical siblings at Subaru and Lexus.
Sure, they have a lot of “future” vehicles in the pipeline but when a smaller competitor like Honda is having success with the with an outsourced product (Prologue) and outsells all three of those Toyota EVs, the company has its work cut out for them.
Also, GM slowly untethering itself from LG Energy is a net positive because it allows for cheaper and more reliable battery tech to be used which would bring the price down on EVs that need to be affordable.
(Somewhere in downtown Detroit in the 1970s…) Toyota isn’t really a legitimate car company. No real Americans will want one.
Slow and steady has proven to be a winning strategy for them. I suspect this measured approach to BEVs will be fruitful for them as well.
LostMe,
Toyota has all the time in the world.
Almost all foreign vehicle manufacturers are subsidized by their governments.
There is no need to hurry because they will never go bankrupt.
Me thinks they aren’t “competitors.” I think all automakers collude like the oil companies. GM makes large trucks and SUVs. Toyota does cars and small SUV’s and one offs. Ford makes one truck, basically and Honda does the Accord. Chrysler does a Jeep.
“Giving”?
This is fascinating. For Toyota, 3.5 million across just Toyota and Lexus doesn’t seem impossible. At scale, this would be about 30% of their overall volume, using last year’s sales data. This makes me wonder if Toyota still views itself as a growth prospect.
For GM, this couldn’t be good news. There’s no quantifiable way to prove this, but I think they shot themselves in the foot for not giving people the option of CarPlay/Android Auto in Equinox EV and Blazer EV. Also, it’s wild that a battery plant GM helped build is going to their most worrisome competitor. This will only bring down the price of future Toyota EV’s.
Thank you President Biden. Your carry over economy is still providing jobs. Meanwhile, we are in a Trump stag-flation. Loss of jobs, gas prices and groceries skyrocketing. I paid $17.00 for a gas station lunch yesterday. Chips, soda and sandwich.
All the thumbs down are for people who can’t handle the truth. What is it that I am posting is inaccurate? Donald said on day one he would stop inflation and that he would be the greatest jobs presenter ever. Well? Educate us.
Thank God, hope this plant will not make batteries for Tesla . And Chuck you Trumpy Trump(by the way Tromper in french means LYE and Trompeur means LYER, and he has been lying since 2016-Stormy Daniels-2020 never proven rig election ect. ect)), GM will build some of their batteries in CANADA. If Trumpy Trump wants jobs back in the US, ask him to find workers that will work at the same conditions and salaries as the workers in Mexico and Korea and China. Also, in Canada we have lost jobs at the following GM assembly plants, Ste Therese, Oshawa