When will electric cars reach a range of 1,000 miles? Japan’s largest automaker has the answer

There are a number of reasons why many drivers are hesitant to switch to an electric car.

Their higher prices, a lack of public charging infrastructure and fear of range are among the three biggest criticisms motorists voice about battery cars.

However, when electric vehicles (EVs) are able to travel further on a single charge than a petrol car between fill-ups, the latter of these complaints should – in theory – be a thing of the past.

But when will this happen? According to Toyota, EVs with a range of almost 1,600 kilometers will be at the dealer sooner than you might think…

With global sales of about 10.5 million vehicles last year, the Japanese carmaker is the largest in the world.

It recently announced a new battery electric vehicle factory, which will start producing new models in 2026.

And not only will these cars be designed and built differently, they will be powered by a range of new, advanced batteries that will offer a range shorter than the longest-range EVs on showrooms today.

The longest range currently offered is 723 kilometers from Mercedes’ EQS 450+. However, you’ll have to pay more than £105,000 if you want this luxury electric executive limousine.

Toyota says its models of the future will improve on this – and at much more affordable prices.

Takero Kato, president of Toyota’s new production facility, says the reach will be key to appealing to a broader customer base.

“We’re going to need different options for batteries, just like we have different types of engines,” he explains.

“It is important to offer battery solutions that are compatible with a variety of models and customer needs.”

But to get many Brits on board, they will have to at least match the capabilities of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars on sale today.

For example, a 1.5-litre petrol VW Golf has a 50-litre fuel tank and returns 52.3mpg. That means the car should be able to travel 575 miles between visits to a gas station.

So when does Toyota expect to sell a mainstream EV that can improve on that?

Not only is it sooner than you expect, the company also believes it will sell electric cars before the end of the decade, which could nearly double the number.

500 mile range – coming in 2026

Liquid electrolytes are the current mainstream battery technology used by most EV manufacturers.

Toyota says it will continue to develop these with higher energy density and improved charging speeds, as well as the availability of more cost-effective vehicles.

Of the three options, the smallest range will come from the ‘Popularisation’ lithium iron phosphate battery that will be used in the most affordable models from late 2026 to early 2027 and will be around 40 percent cheaper than its electric SUV bZ4X (from 2027). just over £45,000) – the only EV currently in showrooms.

It will be constructed from a mix of nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries combined with low-cost lithium iron phosphate (LiFePo) as the core material.

Despite being the cheap option, this battery still offers about 20 percent greater range than the bZ4X, which has a maximum range of 518 miles. That means about 382 miles of cars that should cost around £27,000.

But before then – around 2026 – Toyota should have its ‘Performance’ lithium-ion battery in its sportier models as well.

This will reportedly increase the driving range for its sports cars to ‘over 497 miles’.

Improvements in Toyota’s battery materials and manufacturing processes should also reduce costs for the bZ4X by 20 percent.

600 mile range – available in 2027/2028

Toyota will also develop a ‘high-performance’ lithium-ion battery that it claims can achieve a range of more than 1,000 kilometers, which equates to 621 miles.

This is due to advances in ‘bipolar structure’, which combines lithium-ion chemistry with a high nickel cathode.

However, there is a caveat that this is only possible in combination with ‘better aerodynamics and lower vehicle weight’.

It won’t be in showroom vehicles for another five years or so, but by then it could be around 10 percent cheaper than the ‘Performance’ battery models it would have already launched by then.

Range of almost 1,000 miles – coming after 2028

Toyota believes it has made “a breakthrough in its quest to improve the durability” of solid state batteries and now believes this technology will be in its production vehicles by 2028.

“Solid-state lithium-ion batteries have a solid electrolyte that allows for faster movement of ions and greater tolerance to high voltages and temperatures,” the automaker explains.

‘These properties make the batteries suitable for rapid charging and discharging and for supplying electricity in smaller form.’

Until now, the trade-off has been an expected shorter battery life, but Toyota says it has overcome this and expects to mass-produce solid-state batteries two years ahead of the 2030 ban on sales of new gasoline and diesel cars .

Toyota’s first solid-state battery is expected to offer a range of 620 miles and charge in less than 10 minutes.

And it claims that this is already the case a higher specification ‘li-ion solid-state battery’ under development, aiming to improve cruising range by approximately 50 percent and provide more than 1,200 km (746 miles) of autonomy between charges.

In fact, it is said that the technology can power its electric vehicles for almost 1,500 km, which is a total of 932 miles.

In addition to improvements in battery technology, Toyota is also experimenting with aerodynamics and dynamics, especially when it comes to the height of the battery.

“If the height of the battery can be reduced, it follows that the overall height of the vehicle can be reduced, the drag coefficient improved and the overall range increased,” the report says.

The battery pack in the bZ4X is approximately 150 mm high. Toyota plans to reduce battery height to 120mm – and to 100mm in the case of high-performance models.