Toyota and Panasonic look into automotive battery business

Japanese auto giant Toyota said Wednesday it wanted half of its global sales to come from electric-powered vehicles by 2030, as the industry strives to meet toughening environmental regulations.

Toyota is considering making batteries for electric vehicles with Panasonic, as it ramps up battery development to help meet its goal for green cars to comprise half of its global sales by 2030.

According to the Tribune report, an inspector from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management visited U.S. Steel last month, when plant managers told the inspector they decided not to test for hexavalent chromium in the water.

The automaker plans to work more closely with Panasonic to build better EVs that continue to comply with the tightening regulations worldwide that aim to reduce vehicle emissions.

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Toyota has previously announced that it plans to bring a vehicle to market with potentially revolutionary solid-state batteries by 2022.

But Toyota, which has previously focused on hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells, is having to play catch-up on pure EVs.

Electric and fuel cell vehicles alone are seen selling 1 million units each year, up from almost zero now. "In order for Japan to survive this era of profound change with no natural resources, we must develop competitive batteries and establish systems for a stable supply", Toyoda said.

The agreement means the two companies will analyse prismatic battery use across the automotive world, looking to lower their price and raising their performance and safety. Prismatic batteries have packaging and cost benefits compared to more conventional cylindrical cell designs. Panasonic's traditional batteries are already widely used across the automotive industry in EVs - including various hybrid models produced by Toyota.