Toyota plans to establish a production base for batteries for hybrid vehicles in the central province of Chachoengsao, east of Bangkok (Thailand), reports news agency Kyodo News. The new production base is expected to start operations at the beginning of 2020. The automaker will procure key battery components from outside Thailand, and these will be assembled in the country with related car parts.
Significance: The automaker chose the battery manufacturing base in Thailand because of the expected rise in uptake of EVs in the country due to preferential tax treatment. The automaker already operates a plant for finished cars there. Currently, Toyota's subsidiary Primeearth EV Energy is responsible for the production of Toyota batteries globally. Toyota said in December last year that it aims to sell 5.5 million electrified vehicles annually by 2030, with 4.5 million of those being hybrids or plug-in hybrids. Toyota’s aim to increase production capacity for electric vehicle batteries is consistent with this goal and helps the automaker make batteries for these vehicles.
