Not surprisingly, the two manufacturing companies have launched a special plan to reduce the production costs of batteries lithium-ion. The target? Clearly that of beating the Chinese and South Korean competition.
The managerial culture aimed at reducing waste, carried out by the former Toyota executive Hiroaki Koda who directs the company, continues to form the basis of the PPES joint venture which sets as a target the halving of battery production costs already by 2022, with the aim of reaching cuts of 65-70% by 2025.
Ours is a competitive environment. We need to reach certain price levels to make electric cars attractive and facilitate their spread. If we go out, we don't sell, commented Hiroaki Koda.
In fact, Bloomberg himself reports that about 60% of the costs of lithium-ion batteries is attributable to raw materials, half of which to lithium and cobalt. However, the increase in prices is also caused by the growth in demand for electric vehicles and hi-tech equipment. As for the remaining 40%, it is attributable to development, production and investments in factories and plants.
Let's not forget that during 2021 PPES started the installation of battery lines for electric vehicles in the Japanese plants of Himeji, where production will be around 80,000 batteries in the first 12 months, a an inevitably important number that confirms Toyota's objectives for the next few years. In 2020, the company also produced 1.4 million batteries for hybrid and electric cars, but the intent is to continue increasing production. In this regard, the Shikoku plant will also be expanded to go from 400,000 to 500,000 batteries per year.