Toyota is delaying its plan to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery factory in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture, citing slower global demand for EVs, according to a report by the Nikkei newspaper. The company plans to revisit the project next year and make adjustments if market conditions improve.
This marks the second postponement of the project. Fukuoka Governor Seitaro Hattori said the delay was confirmed after a meeting with Toyota President Koji Sato.
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The battery plant, initially slated to begin operations in 2028, no longer has a confirmed timeline, though Toyota clarified that the project has not been canceled but only postponed. Some of the planned production capacity may instead be used for vehicles or components, according to the report.
Toyota first revealed plans for the Fukuoka battery plant about a year and a half ago. The project was expected to be operated by Toyota Battery, formerly known as Primearth EV Energy, a joint venture founded in 1996 between Toyota and Panasonic. After acquiring Panasonic’s remaining 19.5% stake in March 2024, Toyota made the subsidiary wholly owned and renamed it later that year.
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The proposed site, the Shin-Matsuyama Seaside Industrial Park in Kanda, is located roughly 40 kilometres from Toyota’s Miyata vehicle plant, where the Lexus UX, NX, RX, and ES models are produced. In February 2025, Toyota reportedly purchased land worth around 6 billion yen (about 34 million euros) for the project, under the condition that construction begins within three years.
Toyota has reaffirmed its intention to comply with the site agreement despite the delay. The plant’s contract signing was initially planned for April 2025 but was postponed to autumn due to declining EV demand—and has now been pushed back again, according to Nikkei.
