Japanese carmaker Toyota on Monday offered more detailed insights on its planned new technologies for future electric cars, Kallanish reports.

In a technical briefing session led by chief technology officer Hiroki Nakajima, the company says it is evolving its batteries ahead of the introduction of next-generation BEVs in 2026. It is betting on square batteries, aerodynamics and a new modular structure to offer customers a range of up to 1,000 kilometres (621 miles).

Toyota’s next-generation battery focused on performance will rely on prismatic nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cells, but what it calls “popularisation version” batteries will have cheaper, bipolar LFP cells. There will also be a new battery, that combines a bipolar structure with a high nickel cathode to achieve further advances and higher performance than the popularisation version.

The performance version batteries, coming in 2026, should be 20% cheaper to produce than the current bZ4X batteries, and achieve a quick charge time of 20 minutes (10-80%). The new structure popularisation version should increase range by 20%, reduce costs by 40% and deliver a quick recharging in 30 minutes, all compared to the current bZ4X BEV model. This technology is aimed to be launched in 2026-2027.

The so-called further evolution project, for the new bipolar performance-focused batteries, should be launched in 2027-2028. Toyota engineers are targeting even greater performance than the next-gen high-performance square batteries, with a 10% higher range, 10% cost reduction and a charging time of 20 minutes.

By 2028, the carmaker also expects to be commercialising its all-solid-state battery technology for BEVs. This should improve range by 20% compared to the square performance version batteries, although cost estimates are yet to be defined. Looking further ahead, Toyota is also researching a higher-level SSB specification eyeing a 50% increase in cruising range.

These new technologies will come with new production approaches to ensure BEV profitability. The cars will be moulded through giga casting for significant part integration, which will lower development costs and factory investment, officials say. The aim is to halve manufacturing and plant investment by 2026, and digitalisation and automation will play a key part in increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

Other improvements will come from a multi-pathway BEV platform and the use of silicon carbide wafers for BEV inverters, set to reduce semiconductor power loss by 50%.

The technology strategy will also lead to lower human resources, the carmaker says, without disclosing potential job cut figures. The company is targeting sales of 3.5m BEVs globally by 2030.