Toyota teases solid-state battery breakthrough and 600-mile EV range as it adopts Tesla's gigacasting

Toyota today briefed the public on its vision for the future of electric mobility. It apparently includes electric vehicles that can go 621 miles (1000 km) on a charge while at the same time being more affordable than its current EVs. Its Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Hiroki Nakajima issued slides from a technical briefing session called "Toyota Technical Workshop" and themed "Let's Change the Future of Cars" that Toyota held earlier. There, besides a renewed hydrogen push and the restructuring that puts its electric vehicle efforts under one roof called BEV Factory, Toyota lists its next EV generation specs.

The first stage will see electric Toyotas able to cover said 600+ miles on a charge with a new high-density square battery cell with nickel cathode that Toyota has in production development. Those vehicles will have twice the range of its current bZ4X and at the same time cost 20% less to make. The production cost savings will come by employing modular assembly process with gigacasting of components like the technology Tesla will be using for the Cybertruck, the Model 3 Highland redesign, the Model 2 and, basically, all its future vehicles.

Besides the new battery, the 621 miles of "cruising range" will also be achieved by weight reduction and AI-derived aerodynamics that Toyota says are inspired by hypersonic rockets. In order to cut the car's weight, Toyota is developing a much more compact powertrain it calls the eAxle "by fully utilizing BluE Nexus, Aisin, Denso, and Toyota's in-house technologies cultivated through the development of HEVs." The smaller drivetrain allows "longer cruising range, enlarges the cargo space, and reduces aerodynamic drag, which contribute to better comfort and design."

The 600-mile EV that costs 20% less than the bZ4X and charges in 20 minutes will be released in 2026, while Toyota also has more affordable models in store that it aims to bring to market the same year. Those will be powered by an enhanced LFP battery chemistry - the type that Tesla uses in the base Model 3/Y - with the bipolar structure that Toyota uses for the cells of its hybrids.

This will allow for much cheaper electric cars from Toyota that cost 40% less than the bZ4X and go 20% further, while they can be charged from 10%-80% in 30 minutes. Given that the bZ4X is currently at about the US$40,000 mark and covers 252 miles, this means that Toyota may have a $25,000 EV with 300-mile range to clash with the eventual Model 2 that Tesla could launch next year.

The wildest of Toyota's goals in the new EV strategy banks on its solid-state battery development that Toyota says is in advanced stages. Toyota apparently "discovered a technological breakthrough that overcomes the longstanding challenge of durability" for solid-state batteries and will have them in mass production in the 2027-2028 timeframe. Both hybrids and electric cars can be outfitted with a solid-state battery then, while Toyota expects a 20% range boost compared to the 600-mile EV it will release in 2026.

Granted, that is on the overly generous CLTC test, so the EPA estimate for Toyota's solid-state battery car will likely be a bit over 500 miles on a charge, but that's still quite impressive. While the company is a bit late to the EV game, storied automotive industry analyst Sandy Munroe warned that he had seen the "elephant" Toyota turn on a dime and "crush them like a bug" when it really puts its efforts into something, so the jury on Toyota's electrification push is still out there. 

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