Toyota Boosting Hybrid Car Battery Output Capacity 10%

[msantos]

Toyota is shooting for a capacity of 1.1 million batteries

Staff - EASYBOURSE - June 14, 2009

Forget Li-Ion. Toyota is ramping up with NiMH, again. --Ed.

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.TO) is taking steps to further expand the production capacity for the nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries used in its Prius hybrid cars, The Nikkei reports Saturday.
The automaker is now seeking access to enough NiMH batteries to equip 1.1 million hybrid cars in 2010, or 10% more than was initially called for in its existing expansion plans.
The company that makes and supplies all NiMH batteries for Toyota is Panasonic EV Energy Co., a joint venture owned 60% by Toyota and 40% by Panasonic Corp. (6752.TO).
Panasonic EV Energy is capable of churning out roughly 700,000 NiMH battery packs a year. Its plans for 2010 include installing an additional line designed to produce 100,000 packs at its Omori Factory and building a plant in Miyagi Prefecture that can make 200,000 packs.
Those two steps would raise the company's production capacity to 1 million battery packs a year in 2010. But with the new Prius due out in July, along with the possibility of other hybrid models, Toyota is shooting for a capacity of 1.1 million batteries.
The joint venture will work to provide the added capability without making further plant and equipment investments by boosting productivity and lowering the defect rate.
Panasonic EV Energy will also manufacture the lithium-ion battery packs for the plug-in hybrid cars that Toyota plans to debut at the end of this year.... [Read More]

[paratwa]

This is a smart move. Nimh is proven tech and accepted by the marketplace in cars. Li-on can be done safely, but the first company that DOESN'T and has a car fire because of it will poison the consumer mindset against LI-on for years.

Toyota will be able to say "No need to worry about your Prius bursting into flames like the XXX brand YYY model, we use NIMH in our Prius which is safe"