Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it will build an automotive battery plant in the United States to expand its local supply chain for lithium-ion batteries, with production slated to begin in 2025.

Toyota Motor North America Inc. and trading firm Toyota Tsusho Corp. will set up a new company for the battery plant that will see an investment of $1.29 billion to 2031. Details such as location and production capacity will be announced later, the Japanese automaker said.

Toyota said last month it would invest $13.5 billion in battery development and production globally. Of that total, the company said Monday it is spending $3.4 billion on automotive batteries in the United States through 2030.

"This investment will help usher in more affordable electrified vehicles for U.S. consumers, significantly reduce carbon emissions, and importantly, create even more American jobs tied to the future of mobility," Ted Ogawa, CEO of Toyota Motor North America said in a release.

Toyota is seeking to offer a variety of options from hybrid and hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles to electric cars as the global trend toward decarbonization has brought electrified vehicles into increased focus.

The newly created venture will produce batteries for hybrid electric vehicles, which use an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.

The cumulative total of electrified vehicles sold by Toyota has reached over 18.7 million, with the United States accounting for 4.5 million. About a quarter of Toyota's U.S. sales came from electrified vehicles in terms of volume, and the percentage is expected to climb to nearly 70 percent by 2030, it said.

Under President Joe Biden, the United States is striving to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions and attain carbon neutrality by 2050.

==Kyodo

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