Toyota Will Spend Nearly $50 Million on a Battery Research Facility in Michigan

• Toyota announced it will spend $50 million to construct to build a new battery research lab in Michigan.
• The lab will also test charging, power sources and infrastructure planning.
• Operation is expected to commence in 2025.

Toyota is building a new, nearly $50 million facility dedicated to evaluating batteries for electric and electrified vehicles, the automaker announced last week. This laboratory will be constructed at Toyota's research and development center in York Township, Michigan, which is about an hour from Detroit.

Toyota also revealed that an upcoming three-row electric SUV will be manufactured at its Georgetown, Kentucky, assembly plant starting in 2025. The new battery lab will support research for the Georgetown facility, as well as Toyota's battery plant being built in in North Carolina.

Level 2 and Level 3 charging, power sources and infrastructure are on the docket for the lab, and chassis dynamometers are in the process of an upgrade for battery evaluations at the company's York Township and Ann Arbor, Michigan, locations.

Toyota Motor North America's executive vice president of research and development, Shinichi Yasui, says this lab "shows Toyota’s directional shift towards electrification for all." Over the last two years, the automaker has invested $8 billion in the U.S. alone toward manufacturing and electrification efforts, with more to come, it seems.

The state of Michigan is excited about the news since it adds jobs for the construction project itself and beyond for lab staff.

“Today’s investment by Toyota demonstrates Michigan’s leadership in pioneering the future of mobility,” said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “The $50 million investment in a new laboratory facility to evaluate electric vehicle batteries will create high-skilled, good-paying jobs in Saline and support efforts to help electric vehicles run longer and go farther than ever before."

Toyota has stated its intention to offer an electrified option for every Toyota and Lexus model globally by 2025. This dovetails nicely with the new battery lab, which is scheduled to begin operation that year as well.

Edmunds says

Toyota is moving ahead quickly to advance its electrification strategy, and a roughly $50 million infusion is a strong statement of support for the hybrid and EV markets.