New lithium-ion batteries will boost efficiency and cut costs. Strong demand has prompted Toyota to refocus on its hybrids. Since the original Prius, most Toyota hybrids have NiMH batteries. The battery industry is arguably developing at a quicker rate than even the automotive world, and eager to remain at the forefront of changes and developments, Toyota is looking to equip its latest range of hybrid vehicles with advanced, new-generation lithium-ion batteries. Dating back to the Prius of the late 1990s, Toyota’s hybrid models have relied on nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, although the new RAV4 has shifted to a lithium-ion pack. Moving forward, other Toyota hybrids will too. Between 2027 and 2028, Toyota plans to convert battery capacity in Japan for as many as 600,000 new vehicles, noting the new cells will boost efficiency while also costing less. Read: Toyota Is Preparing To Build Millions Of These Instead Of EVs As reported by Auto News, Toyota is doubling down on its hybrid focus as more new car buyers shift away from non-hybrid combustion engines. “We plan to gradually transition from nickel to lithium while simultaneously expanding our production capacity,” Toyota chief accounting officer Takanori Azuma noted. “This will result in a cost reduction of approximately tens of thousands of yen per vehicle. We are striving to both improve performance and reduce costs.” Toyota’s New EV Batteries Specifics about the new batteries Toyota is developing are limited at this early stage. We know that in addition to developing its own new lithium-ion cells, Toyota is also working with battery specialists, including CATL. Toyota is also said to be working on bipolar lithium-ion cells for pure EVs, which are claimed to provide driving ranges of up to 621 miles (1,000 km). What’s more, Toyota is also working on solid-state batteries, which can charge from 10-80 percent in under 10 minutes while providing driving ranges of up to 745 miles (1,200 km). While Toyota’s overall retail sales fell 3.5 percent to 2.55 million vehicles during the April-June quarter, its electrified vehicle sales rose 12 percent to 1.41 million over the same period.