Toyota's battery plant in North Carolina. Yonhap News. 

Toyota, the Japanese automaker, has begun producing automotive batteries in North America for the first time, Toyota North America announced on the 12th (local time).

According to Toyota's announcement, the battery manufacturing facility located in Liberty, North Carolina, USA, has officially commenced operations.

Toyota has been building the vehicle battery plant since 2021 with a total investment of $14 billion (approximately 20.6 trillion won), in accordance with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) policy of the former Biden administration, which provides tax benefits for electric vehicles produced in the United States.

This is the first time Toyota has produced vehicle batteries in the United States.

Toyota's North Carolina plant is expected to produce batteries for hybrid vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) across 14 production lines.

While demand for electric vehicles has recently slowed in North America, the market for hybrid vehicles, where Toyota holds a strong position, continues to grow.

Toyota's market share in the North American hybrid vehicle market reaches 50%.

Meanwhile, Toyota announced in its statement today, "We will invest an additional $10 billion (approximately 14.7 trillion won) in the United States over the next five years to support future mobility efforts."

Previously, on the 28th of last month, U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned during his visit to Japan, "(Sanaye Takaichi) Japanese Prime Minister told me that Toyota will invest over $10 billion (approximately 14.7 trillion won) across the United States to build automotive plants."

This is the first time Toyota has officially announced plans for additional investment in the U.S. following President Trump's remarks. However, Toyota did not disclose specific details today on how the additional investment of $10 billion will be made.

Yonhap News