Toyota Motor Corporation in Aichi Prefecture had been enjoying a good reputation for producing the most economical automobiles that were compatible with our country’s fuel resources, and the company’s research institute had completed a diesel engine and built a prototype medium-sized elk car in order to produce automobiles that were more in line with national policies.
Just as it was creating a sensation in the Japanese automobile industry, the company announced that it would produce another battery-powered automobile.

Kiichiro Fengda, vice president of the company, spoke of the research and development of this vehicle as follows 　Our country has always been troubled with fuel problems, but since hydroelectricity using natural water power is relatively well developed, it is necessary to store power used at night to prepare for the scarcity of power or fuel resources. When the late Mr. Sakichi was running a spinning business in Shanghai, he was very upset that immigration to the U.S. was banned. 　He said that we must think of a way to overcome the foreign countries economically with the power of the Japanese people, and in order to do so, we must utilize Japan’s water power and store its electricity and export it overseas, or use it in airplanes and automobiles, etc. He felt keenly the need to improve storage batteries, and he gave one million yen to the Imperial Development Association for storage batteries as a prize for research. He was so keenly aware of the need to improve the storage battery that he offered a bounty of one million yen to the Imperial Institute of Invention and Innovation for research on storage batteries.

After that, many fields devoted themselves to this research, and although there were some partial improvements, no major and groundbreaking improvements have yet been made. Since most inventions come from unexpected places, one of the purposes of this prize is to encourage as many Japanese people as possible to pay attention to the research and development of the storage battery. Since then, the annual review committee has been producing improved and advanced storage batteries, but it has been difficult to find one that is economically feasible to be used in automobiles. 　The Japan Institute for Industrial Development had established the Toyota Research Institute with an interest of one million yen to research various types of storage batteries. 　Since it is not possible to do real research on these types of products if they are made in an experimental laboratory, they must be made in large quantities and put into practical use, and then the deficiencies must be corrected one by one. As a result of our traditional research, we tried to make a battery for a storage battery car, which was relatively risky, but the result was improved relatively quickly, and we decided to establish a prototype storage battery laboratory in Shibaura, Tokyo.

Dr. Takeyama tried to make a new type of battery which traditional chemists did not agree with, but he found that it was about 10% lighter than traditional ones, and it was resistant to vibration and could be discharged for a short period of time. We have taken over the right to manufacture storage batteries from the Imperial Development Association and have started to manufacture motors and chassis with completely new equipment. Of course, this storage battery will not be the last of its kind, and further research is needed, but we believe it will be of some practical use in saving gasoline in the current emergency situation. We have taken the initiative in the production of battery-powered vehicles from the standpoint of national fuel policy, and we have begun to manufacture battery-powered vehicles after realizing a certain degree of risk, and the product is scheduled to be released in the coming spring.