TOKYO— Toyota Motor Corp. said it would spend $9 billion over the next decade to build factories for electric-car batteries as it gears up to sell two million electric cars annually by the end of the decade.
The world’s largest car maker by vehicle sales has been relatively late in joining the global race to produce and sell battery-powered cars. For years, Toyota said it didn’t think battery-powered cars were a good solution to climate- and pollution-related concerns because the batteries were too expensive and took too long to charge. The company viewed hybrid gas-electric vehicles, which it pioneered, as the better option.