Area Development
Toshiba Corporation will invest up to US$330 million to build a factory that will produce advanced rechargeable batteries that can be used in hybrid cars and electric vehicles. According to an Associated Press report, the company has chosen a location in northwest Japan for the facility, which is expected to begin production in 2010 and increase the company's production of the lithium-ion batteries from its current 150,000-cell-per-month capacity to several million. Agence France-Presse reports that the company will also invest US$77 million to construct a facility in Vietnam to produce high-efficiency motors that meet rising global emissions standards. The plant, which is expected to employ 500 people, will be built on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City and begin production in 2015 of 1.2 million industrial motors annually.