Watchman Alfrescian Loyal Joined Mar 12, 2009 Messages 13,160 Points 0 Jan 27, 2010 #1 Toyota Just Got All The Lithium It Needs By Claiming Stake In Mining Company Graham Winfrey | Jan. 21, 2010, 9:17 AM This is an interesting case of vertical integration in the car business. Toyota procured vital lithium resources for its hybrid battery packs (pictured at right) Wednesday, by striking a deal with Orocobre, an Australian lithium mining company in Argentina, GreenBeat reports. Toyota Tsusho, a subsidiary of the Toyota Group, sells the parts and materials used to make cars, and boosted its own stock value 10 percent after it struck a deal with Orocobre. It now owns a 25 percent stake in the Australian company, whose stock almost doubled in value after the agreement. This is a very strategic move for the Toyota Group. Demand for lithium is sure to skyrocket once electric cars and hybrids join the market and become more commonplace starting this year. Toyota Motors now commands both the raw materials and the manufacturing infrastructure it needs to hit the ground running when its plug-in model is released. Whether or not the corporation will sell lithium to other EV, hybrid or advanced battery makers is unknown, but it could present a lucrative opportunity.
Toyota Just Got All The Lithium It Needs By Claiming Stake In Mining Company Graham Winfrey | Jan. 21, 2010, 9:17 AM This is an interesting case of vertical integration in the car business. Toyota procured vital lithium resources for its hybrid battery packs (pictured at right) Wednesday, by striking a deal with Orocobre, an Australian lithium mining company in Argentina, GreenBeat reports. Toyota Tsusho, a subsidiary of the Toyota Group, sells the parts and materials used to make cars, and boosted its own stock value 10 percent after it struck a deal with Orocobre. It now owns a 25 percent stake in the Australian company, whose stock almost doubled in value after the agreement. This is a very strategic move for the Toyota Group. Demand for lithium is sure to skyrocket once electric cars and hybrids join the market and become more commonplace starting this year. Toyota Motors now commands both the raw materials and the manufacturing infrastructure it needs to hit the ground running when its plug-in model is released. Whether or not the corporation will sell lithium to other EV, hybrid or advanced battery makers is unknown, but it could present a lucrative opportunity.
