Toyota – Panasonic battery venture looking for new coastal site.
Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Inc., the battery joint venture of Toyota Motor Corp. and Panasonic Holdings Corp., is searching for a new domestic manufacturing site with sea port and clean energy access as it expands to keep up with consumer demand for electric vehicles, President Hiroaki Koda said in an interview in Tokyo.
The company, which formally started operations in 2020, also plans to pare production costs by adopting Toyota’s so-called kaizen process of increasing productivity via tiny, continuous improvements as it takes on bigger battery making rivals around the region.
Lowering costs and making sufficient electric car batteries is key for Prime Planet amid rising raw materials prices. While Toyota, the world’s No. 1 automaker, has vowed to offer the “widest possible” array of powertrains to propel cars in a greener fashion, it has still committed some ¥4 trillion ($28.6 billion) to electrify its product lineup.
President Hiroaki Koda said, referring to Toyota’s ability to move fast when needed, said:
Once they step on the accelerator, the horsepower is amazing.
“The key is to what extent we can minimize costs, then how speedily we can launch many production lines when the time comes.”
Prime Planet plans to slash costs 60% by 2025 versus 2020 levels, Koda said. It currently makes EV batteries at a factory in Himeji, a coastal city west of Tokyo. Koda declined to elaborate further about a potential new manufacturing site.
“Once they step on the accelerator, the horsepower is amazing,” Koda said, referring to Toyota’s ability to move fast when needed. “The key is to what extent we can minimize costs, then how speedily we can launch many production lines when the time comes.”
Prime Planet plans to slash costs 60% by 2025 versus 2020 levels, Koda said. It currently makes EV batteries at a factory in Himeji, a coastal city west of Tokyo. Koda declined to elaborate further about a potential new manufacturing site.
Highlights:
- Prime Plant mulling new battery plant in Japan: President Koga
- Japan trails China, South Korea in manufacture of EV batteries
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Toyota-Panasonic’s Battery Venture Looking for New Coastal Site, November 20, 2022
