Toyota pledges $2.1 billion more for EV battery plant in North Carolina

(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday it will invest $2.1 billion more in its new U.S. battery plant in North Carolina, as the Japanese automaker deepens efforts to tap rising demand for electric vehicles.

The automaker also said its first U.S.-made battery electric sports utility vehicles (SUVs) will be assembled at the company's Kentucky plant from 2025.

The new SUVs, with three rows of seats, will be powered by batteries from the North Carolina plant once it begins production in 2025.

Toyota's latest investment in the battery plant brings the total to $5.9 billion.

The facility, its planned hub for developing and producing lithium-ion batteries, will have six battery production lines - four for hybrid electric vehicles and two for battery electric vehicles.

Seeking to solidify its foothold in the EV sector, Toyota has said it will introduce 10 new battery-powered vehicles, targeting sales of 1.5 million EVs a year by 2026.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)