Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), a US-based motor vehicle manufacturing company and a subsidiary of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation, has announced plans to invest $50m (Y7.06bn) to construct a new laboratory facility at its North American R&D headquarters in York Township, Michigan. The new facility will evaluate batteries for electric and electrified vehicles throughout North America. The operations at the new battery lab are expected to begin in 2025.

“This new investment in our North American R&D operation, which has been a key pillar of the Michigan automotive industry for more than 50 years, shows Toyota’s directional shift towards electrification for all,” said Shinichi Yasui, executive vice-president of TMNA for research and development. “By adding these critical evaluation capabilities around automotive batteries, our team is positioned to better serve the needs of our customers, including Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, the latter of which will soon be assembling the recently announced all-new, three-row, battery electric SUV.”

Over the past two years, Toyota has invested more than $8bn in its US-based manufacturing operations, primarily to support its electrification efforts.