BEIJING : Toyota Motor Corp will launch an all-electric small sedan in China late next year, having turned to local partner BYD for key technology to finally make an affordable yet roomy runaround, four sources told Reuters.
Toyota's new EV will be slightly bigger than its compact Corolla, the world's best-selling car of all time. One source said think of it as"a Corolla with bigger back-seat section". Two of the four sources, all of whom declined to be named because they are not authorised to speak to the media, said the new Toyota would be priced competitively.
There was a critical turn of events in 2017 when Toyota's top engineering leaders, including then-executive vice president Shigeki Terashi, drove several BYD cars such as the Tang at its proving ground in Toyota City near its headquarters in Japan. Nevertheless, Toyota has set up division in Japan dedicated to zero-emissions cars called ZEV Factory and it is developing safer and lower-cost battery technologies, including solid-state lithium-ion cells which would significantly boost an EV's range.
"It's a 'scales fell from my eyes' kind of technology we initially dismissed because its design is so radically simple," one of the four sources said.LFP batteries have a lower energy density than most other lithium-ion cells but are cheaper, have a longer shelf-life, are less prone to overheating and don't use cobalt or nickel. Tesla already uses LFP batteries in its Model 3 and Model Y in China.