Toyota says it has found a technological breakthrough that will allow it to bring solid state batteries to market as early as 2027.
It's one of several advanced battery technologies that will underscore the brand's new EV focus as it pivots away from its former CEO's hybrid-centric strategy.
Solid state batteries promise greater energy density, higher electric range, and faster charging that puts refueling time on-par with a gas-powered vehicle. Scientists, researchers, and automakers have spent decades trying to crack the code on their commercialization, but so far no EVs have them, including Toyota's own offerings: the Toyota bZ4X and Lexus RZ.
Lexus RZ at the New York Auto ShowBut Toyota says it has found a new material that gets around one of the core issues with solid state batteries: Their longevity.
"We found quality material," Chief Technology Officer Hiroki Nakajima said at a press event in Japan this week, as reported by Nikkei Asia. "We'll keep up with the rest of the world and definitely put it to practical use."
The next challenge will be mass production. Toyota says its breakthrough batteries will hit the market in 2027 or 2028, giving its EVs 745 miles of range—significantly greater than any gas-powered car today—with 10-minute charging times.
Eventually, Toyota's plans include vehicles with 932-mile range and less than 10-minute charging times. In comparison, the best-selling EV today, the Tesla Model Y, has a maximum 330-mile range and 15-minute charging via Tesla Supercharger.
Toyota bZ4XToyota is one of many automakers trying to commercialize solid state batteries. In November 2022, Honda announced a new polymer fabric that would get around the longevity problem. It plans to release an EV with a solid state battery by the end of the decade. However, unlike Toyota, Honda did not mention a range or charging time its new batteries could achieve.
Since solid state batteries are still years away, Toyota revealed short-term plans for improved batteries. It will offer several options, including high-performance packs. Its main, mass market battery will be a new, low-cost "bipolar" lithium iron phosphate (LFP), Carscoops reports.
With these batteries, the company says it can achieve a 20% increase in range, with a 40% reduction in cost, and sub-30 minute charging. The bZ4X currently starts at $42,000 with 252-mile range. The Lexus RZ starts at $59,600 with just a 220-mile range. By our calculations, a 20% improvement would put the bZ4X at just over 300 miles, on the higher end of the market today, and get the Lexus RZ up to where most of the market is at a 260-mile range.
Charge port on the Lexus RZ.Toyota did not provide any details on which vehicles will have this technology and what their range will be. But we're most likely to see it in a next-generation Lexus EV, as a major company re-organization in March revolved around making Lexus its flagship electric vehicle brand. Now, the former president of Lexus International is CEO and President of all of Toyota, as of April 1.
Lexus is the luxury arm of Toyota, so its first EVs with this new-and-improved battery technology are not likely to come in the lower-cost, mass-market package many consumers expect from Toyota, but that remains to be seen.
