Meanwhile, Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s largest carmaker and a late entrant into the battery electric vehicle race, is aiming to roll out next-generation solid-state batteries over the next three years. The solid-state battery technology promises to double vehicle range and drastically lower charging time.
In the due course, the Japanese carmaker could potentially have two sets of battery electric vehicles or BEV on offer across markets, including India – one range with existing Lithium-ion batteries and a second range with its new and pricier solid-state batteries, a senior company executive at Toyota’s joint venture in India had indicated to The Indian Express.
Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker by vehicles sold, had announced a “breakthrough” in solid state battery materials two years back and had said it plans to mass-produce solid-state batteries by 2027 or 2028. Solid-state batteries are seen as a major improvement in battery tech, countering concerns such as extended charging time and the risk of catching fire associated with traditional Li-ion batteries that have a liquid electrolyte.
With its new solid-state batteries, Toyota expects its electric cars powered by them to have a range of 1,200km — well over twice that of the current range of EVs — and a charging time of under 10 minutes.