The world’s largest carmaker Toyota said on Wednesday that it will invest 730 billion yen (5.3 billion euros at current prices) to start its own production of electric batteries in Japan and the United States between 2024 and 2026, writes AFP.

The sum is part of a ¥2 trillion package announced last year by the group for battery development and production from 2022 to 2030, a Toyota spokeswoman told AFP.

In particular, the group is investing 400 billion yen (2.9 billion euros) in a factory in Himeji (western Japan) and almost 330 billion yen (2.4 billion euros) in its plant under construction in North Carolina (southeastern USA).

Thus, the total investment in the battery plant in North Carolina, which should be operational in 2025, will amount to almost four billion euros.

The White House sees it as “a sign that President Biden’s economic plan is ushering in a new era of American manufacturing and economic competitiveness,” said economic adviser Brian Dees.

Toyota has long been skeptical of the market potential of electric cars, but has been seriously pursuing it since last year to keep up with this fast-growing segment, which is increasingly encouraged by the authorities in Europe, China and the United States.

The group plans to launch 30 100% electric models by 2030 and plans to invest around 30 billion euros between 2022 and 2030 in research, development and production of electric vehicles and batteries, as announced last year.

But Toyota continues to not put all its eggs in one basket, continuing to make huge investments in hybrid vehicles, of which it is the world champion, and in other technologies such as hydrogen.

“There are several options for achieving carbon neutrality” and “the means of maximally and rapidly reducing CO2 emissions (…) vary greatly by country and region,” Toyota reiterated in its latest press release.