Japan’s Toyota announces EV and battery push in China and U.S., as its quarterly profit surges WSOC TV [Video]

TOKYO — (AP) — Toyota is developing and making electric vehicles and EV batteries in China, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday, under a new partnership with the Shanghai government.

Toyota Motor Corp. also announced it will start producing batteries for EVs, hybrids and plug-ins at a new $14 billion facility in North Carolina, with shipping starting for North American models in April.

The moves highlight Toyota’s aggressive push in electric cars, a sector where some critics have said it’s fallen behind rivals like Tesla and BYD at a time when the Chinese EV market is booming and the world’s concerns about sustainability are increasingly crucial.

Toyota is setting up a company in Jinshan district in southwest Shanghai for that effort, with production of the new Lexus EVs starting in 2027.

Initial production capacity there totals 100,000 vehicles a year, which will create about 1,000 jobs, the world’s top automaker said. The battery plant in the U.S. will create some 5,000 jobs, …