Toyota to roll out solid-state battery EVs in a couple of years, exec says

GANDHINAGAR, India -- Toyota is set to launch vehicles with solid-state batteries in a couple of years that can charge faster and last longer, a top official from its Indian unit said.

Solid-state batteries promise to dramatically improve the driving range of electric vehicles, a key element of a strategic pivot Toyota unveiled in June to catch up with Tesla and Chinese rivals, such as BYD, in the EV race.

Last year, Toyota and oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan said they would tie up to develop and mass produce all-solid-state batteries, which they aim to commercialize in 2027 and 2028, followed by full-scale mass production.

"We are rolling out an electric vehicle with solid-state batteries in a couple of years from now," Vikram Gulati, country head of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said at an investment summit in the western state of Gujarat.

"The solid-state batteries can be charged in 10 minutes and have a range of 1,200 km (750 miles)," he said.

Thousands of chief executives, investors and diplomats have gathered for the three-day event at which big global and Indian companies have unveiled investment plans worth nearly $33 billion.

Toyota's partner and India's top automaker Maruti Suzuki said on Wednesday it would invest 350 billion rupees ($4.2 billion) to build a second car plant in Gujarat and add a new production line at an existing plant there.

"Electrification is a process whose time has come and it will happen," said Rahul Bharti, executive director at Maruti Suzuki, adding it will begin exporting EVs to Europe and Japan this year.

India's transport minister Nitin Gadkari told the summit he anticipated EV sales in India, the world's third largest auto market, would reach 10 million units by 2030.

Electric models accounted for just around 2 percent of India's car sales last year, but the national government is targeting 30 percent by 2030 and is working on a new policy to attract EV makers.