Toyota Motor Corp. has started recycling hybrid-vehicle batteries in Thailand, aiming to establish a sustainable process for the power source behind eco-friendly cars and cut costs.
The carmaker said at Friday's launch event it is reusing nickel-metal hydride batteries by utilizing some of them as storage cells for nonvehicular uses, and extracting minerals from them to make brand-new batteries in Japan.
It is part of an effort by Toyota — which began battery production in Thailand in May, its first such move in Southeast Asia — to electrify all vehicles by 2025.