Toyota

Toyota wants to be the first automaker to offer a solid-state battery (SSB) in a production car. Many companies claim to be close, and some have even started real-world testing, so the race appears neck-and-neck. Toyota says its production application of SSBs could arrive in 2027, although 2028 sounds more likely, and it may be deployed in a high-power sports car, possibly an electric successor to the Lexus LFA.

The Japanese manufacturer hasn’t stated this directly, but it has hinted that the first production application of SSBs will be in a special vehicle. It could be in something like a production version of the Lexus Electrified Sport concept, where using SSBs first would make the most sense, because lightness is especially important in a sports car.

Toyota describes its SSBs as “high-power, compact and long range,” which is exactly what a sporty, low-slung Lexus two-seater EV needs. Modern high-performance EVs already offer plenty of straight-line speed and range. But their batteries are also very heavy, so when you approach a corner, you feel like the chassis is fighting physics trying to keep all that mass from understeering into a ditch.

SSBs promise to provide much higher power density than even the best of today’s batteries—like the ones Ferrari intends to use in its first EV—which means battery packs can be physically smaller and therefore lighter. They also have much better longevity, charging speed and are less likely to go kaboom in the event of a battery pack puncture.

Shrinking the physical size of the battery pack would also allow engineers to concentrate more mass closer to the center of the vehicle, which improves dynamics. Having a skateboard chassis where the battery pack serves as the floor of the vehicle is good, but having a battery spine along the center of the vehicle is even better for handling. McMurtry, for instance, builds the battery pack around the single-seater cockpit specifically to keep as much of the mass centered, and this will be even easier with SSBs.

If you look at the quickest EVs available today, the vast majority weigh over 4,400 pounds, which is a lot if you want to hustle down a twisty road. It’s interesting that no matter how much power you give these cars, there is a point where that becomes redundant, especially if you want it to be quick around a track.

Just look at the new Nurburgring Nordschleife EV lap record holder, BYD’s YangWang U9. The Chinese EV has an absurd amount of power—3,000 hp—yet it still takes longer to do a lap than a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, which only has a sixth of the power. But the GT3 weighs just 3,197 lbs, which makes the U9’s almost 5,500 lbs seem severely overweight by comparison. Removing weight makes cars lighter, more responsive, faster and more fun to drive.

Keiji Kaita, the president of Toyota’s Carbon Neutral Engineering Development Center, stated at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show that the vehicles using SSBs would “leverage these attributes,” referring to all of the advantages noted above. This makes a strong case for the first SSB-powered EV being a sports car and wearing a Lexus badge.

Toyota has not officially confirmed what type of vehicle it plans to use SSBs in first, and, for all we know, we may even see them in a hybrid before they power a pure electric vehicle. They could also be integrated into one of Toyota’s existing vehicles or a vehicle it plans to launch in the near future, such as the sharp new Corolla previewed by a recent concept.

Whatever they end up powering first, once SSBs do debut in a series-production vehicle, they will eventually find their way into more affordable vehicles. Toyota says it’s on track with its solid-state program, and it recently reaffirmed its excellent progress when it announced it had struck a key deal with a local metals company, which will supply the all-important cathode material to make large-scale manufacturing of these batteries possible.

It’s an early step in the long road to manufacturing solid-state EV batteries at scale. It’s a long road for every automaker, and there’s still no clear leader. But Toyota has been working on solid state batteries for a long time, and with its ultra-deep pockets it certainly is a contender. When its solid state EVs do arrive, it sounds like the first one will be pretty fun to drive.