Toyota has recently opened the Toyota Battery Center of North America at its Saline, MI, research campus. This 30,000-square-foot battery development and testing center will evaluate battery cells from Toyota's North Carolina battery plant and its factories across the region.
Engineers at the battery center will assess battery performance and develop new technology for use in Toyota's hybrid, hydrogen, and electric vehicles, all in keeping with its strategy to develop several new drivetrains in parallel. The center will cover everything from raw material sourcing to recycling, while providing the automaker with in-region testing capacity.
The center will also be open to the University of Michigan Electric Vehicle Center, giving Toyota's research partners access to testing equipment. This arrangement will support engineers and technicians for battery work.
One of Toyota's major goals with this new battery center is to place a greater focus on engineering new battery technology in addition to battery manufacturing. The focus on hybrid and plug-in hybrid battery technology also seems to reflect decreased demand for electric vehicles, while hybrid vehicle sales remain consistent.
If nothing else, the opening of the Toyota Battery Center of North America is a sign that big things are to come for the Toyota company. While we're probably still a few years away from driving vehicles powered by any new battery technology developed in the center, we still have an excellent selection of Toyota vehicles at our dealership.
Reach out to us at Camelback Toyota in Phoenix, AZ, to learn more.
