Toyota Plans to Sell Lithium-ion Batteries to Rivals
Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., the only major automaker that produces its own batteries, plans to sell lithium- ion batteries for plug-in cars to competitors.
Along with making packs for a plug-in version of the Prius hybrid, Toyota sees an opportunity for additional revenue from supplying packs to rivals, Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto said in an interview yesterday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Toyota has been the top hybrid-maker since it began selling the Prius in Japan in 1997. Prius sales fell 12 percent last year in the U.S., where it accounted for half of the hybrids sold. Toyota showed a revamped model yesterday that goes on sale this year.
General Motors Corp.,Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. are developing cars that can be recharged at household electric outlets to reduce demand for Toyota hybrids.
Panasonic EV Energy Co., Toyota’s 60 percent-owned venture with Panasonic Corp., plans to open a plant in Japan this year that will be among the first to mass-produce lithium-ion car batteries. Currently, Panasonic EV gets about 70 percent hybrid- battery sales, supplying Toyota and other companies, said K.G. Duleep, managing director of consulting firm Energy & Environmental Analysis Inc.
Battery Business
“I’m not sure how actively they’ll sell lithium-ion packs to others, because if it’s a proprietary technology they feel is particularly important, they tend to charge a lot for it,” Duleep said.
Toyota, based in Toyota City, Japan, said Jan. 10 it will sell an electric car powered by lithium-ion packs in 2012. That model, the FT-EV minicar shown in Detroit this week, will go at least 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) on a charge, Toyota said.
Panasonic EV has supplied nickel-metal battery packs for more than 1 million Toyota and Lexus hybrids over the past decade and also sells such batteries to GM, Ford and Nissan for their hybrids.
Carmakers say lithium-ion is the best option available for new types of hybrid and electric vehicles because it’s capable of holding more energy than nickel-metal cells used on the current Prius. Currently, it’s also more costly and harder to produce for autos.
Home-Use System
Starting this year, Toyota has said it will deliver 500 plug-in Priuses with lithium-ion packs to fleet users, including 150 in the U.S. Those vehicles are to go at least 10 miles solely on battery power before the gasoline engine engages. Toyota has set no price or date for consumer sales.
As it increases production of lithium-ion packs, Panasonic EV will also continue to focus on making nickel-metal packs for conventional hybrids, Takimoto said. The power devices could also be used in homes a Toyota affiliate produces in Japan to store energy from solar panels.
“We are discussing the possibility of such a battery for home use,” he said.
Panasonic, Toyota’s battery partner on Dec. 19 offered to buy Sanyo Electric Co. for 806.7 billion yen ($9.05 billion). Sanyo is the second-largest supplier of hybrid batteries and customers include Honda Motor Co., Japan’s No. 2 automaker.
Takimoto declined to say what that acquisition would mean for Panasonic EV business.
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