Toyota: Toyota acquired Panasonic’s stake in their long-running battery joint venture, Primearth EV Energy Co. (PEVE), fully integrating it into Toyota and rebranding it as Toyota Battery Co. The move gives Toyota greater control over battery production and technology choices, ranging from conventional Ni-MH packs used in hybrids to lithium-ion and future solid-state cells, and accelerates its “multi-path” approach to electrification.
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Toyota: Buys an EV Battery
- In early March 2024, it agreed to buy the remaining stake in Primearth EV Energy Co. (PEVE), the battery joint venture it had operated with Panasonic, making PEVE a wholly-owned subsidiary. The acquisition closed in late March 2024.
- It announced that PEVE will be renamed TOYOTA BATTERY Co., Ltd. (effective October 1, 2024) to reflect the unit’s expanded role.
Background: PEVE and the Panasonic
PEVE has produced prismatic Ni-MH and lithium-ion packs for its hybrids and was a legacy JV born out of decades of cooperation between the two Japanese giants. Panasonic itself remains a major global battery supplier (notably to Tesla) and continues to work across the industry, but chose to cede its minority stake in this JV. The JV had a long history of supporting its hybrid leadership; owning it outright lets Toyota align the asset tightly with its electrification strategy.
Why did Toyota it the strategic logic
- Control. Owning the factory and IP outright means it can prioritise product roadmaps, production timing, and investments without negotiating with a partner. Think of it as switching from renting a room to owning the house — you decide the renovations.
- Scale and speed. Toyota needs to ramp battery output quickly to meet EV, PHEV and hybrid demand. Full ownership simplifies capital planning and capacity expansion. It also reduces friction when retooling factories for different cell formats.
- Multi-path flexibility. It has repeatedly described a “multi-path” battery strategy — continuing hybrids (Ni-MH), expanding lithium-ion for PHEVs/EVs, and investing in next-gen tech like solid-state. Bringing PEVE in-house makes it easier to pursue multiple cell chemistries and manufacturing approaches in parallel.
The technical landscape: what batteries are we talking about?
- Ni-MH (Nickel-Metal Hydride): Toyota’s bread-and-butter for decades in conventional hybrids. Reliable, long-lived and safe, though lower energy density than lithium-ion. It still values Ni-MH for cost and durability in certain hybrids. PEVE historically produced these.
- Lithium-ion: Higher energy density, used in plug-in hybrids and battery EVs. It needs to scale Li-ion production to meet EV ambitions — retooling and new lines are required.
- Solid-state: It has publicly targeted solid-state commercialisation in the coming years. However, there’s industry debate about timelines and scale; some firms (including parts of Panasonic) are cautious about how quickly solid-state will be mass-manufacturable for cars. Ownership of battery manufacturing assets makes it easier to pursue this R&D-to-manufacturing bridge.
Conclusion
Toyota buying the battery JV from Panasonic is a strategic consolidation: it isn’t a dramatic exit from cooperation, and it isn’t a sudden pivot to match Chinese volume leaders overnight. Instead, it’s choosing control, optionality and alignment, owning the factories, naming the priorities and keeping the door open to multiple battery technologies.
That’s smart for a company that has historically moved cautiously but deliberately. The move reduces integration friction and makes it easier for to scale battery production on its own terms — but the hard parts remain: securing raw materials, achieving cost parity with low-cost giants, and turning R&D bets into mass-manufacturable, reliable cells.
Bhakti Rawat is a Founder & Writer of InsureMyCar360.com. This site Provides You with Information Related To the Best Auto Insurance Updates & comparisons. 🔗