Robots weld bodyshells of Toyota Motor Corp's Prius hybrid car on the assembly line of the Tsutsumi plant in Toyota, central Japan, on Dec 8, 2017. (Reuters file photo)

TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp is set to establish a production base for batteries for hybrid vehicles in Thailand, aiming to start operations at the beginning of 2020, sources close to the matter said Tuesday.

Toyota is rushing to enhance production capacity for batteries for electric cars as it aims to sell a total of 4.5 million units of its hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2030.

The Japanese carmaker has decided to focus on battery manufacture in Thailand as the number of electric cars there is expected to grow due to preferential tax treatment, the sources said.

Key battery components will be procured from outside of Thailand and assembled in the country with related car parts. The production base will be launched in the central province of Chachoengsao, east of Bangkok, where Toyota has a plant for finished cars.

Toyota's subsidiary Primeearth EV Energy Co, which has plants in Japan and China, currently produces and supplies batteries to finished car factories across the globe.