Gotion Put a Price on Solid-State Batteries. Honda and Toyota Haven't -

~$150/kWh

Gotion long-term cost target · CarNewsChina

400 Wh/kg

Gotion density target · electrive

¥43bn

Honda demo line investment · Power Progress

2027-28

Toyota target launch window · SlashGear

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Key takeaways

CONFIRMED

• Gotion says its long-term solid-state cost target is about $150/kWh at 400 Wh/kg.

• Changan says its 400 Wh/kg cell supports 1,500 km on the CLTC test cycle.

• Honda planned a January 2025 start for its demonstration line. We found no per-kWh cost from Honda or Toyota.

LUDICARC ANALYSIS

• Gotion has a public cost target. Honda and Toyota do not have a comparable published figure, for now.

What has Gotion actually claimed?

Two claims are circulating, from different companies. They should be kept apart.

The cost claim is Gotion’s. The Volkswagen-backed maker set a long-term goal of about one yuan per watt-hour, roughly $150/kWh, according to electrive. It raised its density target from 350 to 400 Wh/kg and finalised the design of a 2 GWh line in March 2026.

The range claim is not Gotion’s. Electrek reports that Changan says its 400 Wh/kg cell supports more than 1,500 km on the CLTC cycle, with trial installations planned before the end of the third quarter. We found no independent test confirming that range. Chery targets the same range. These are company claims. We found no independent test of either.

Reading the $150 figure

CarNewsChina puts it at more than double the average price of LFP cells in China. Notebookcheck estimates roughly twice the energy density of LFP at roughly twice the price. The target is a premium price, not a cheap one.

Honda unveiled its Sakura demonstration line in November 2024, planned a January 2025 start, and said it would verify mass-production technologies and costs for each process. Investment was about ¥43 billion. Ludicarc found no new Honda announcement. The line is not the news. Honda has discussed cost reduction, but we found no comparable published $/kWh figure.

“A game changer in this EV era.”

Keiji Otsu, president of Honda R&D, on the demonstration line

Toyota plans solid-state EVs in 2027 to 2028, with Sumitomo Metal Mining on cathodes and Idemitsu on lithium sulfide, a base material for solid electrolytes. Secondary reporting says Toyota expects the technology to be expensive at first. Toyota and Sumitomo say they are working to cut costs before launch, but we found no comparable published $/kWh figure from Toyota.

Why does manufacturing cost matter?

A lab cell can demonstrate the chemistry. A factory has to make that chemistry work repeatedly, quickly and cheaply. Honda’s chief engineer Takeshi Ueda told InsideEVs the prototype battery must be made about 100 times bigger. That gap is a manufacturing problem.

Ludicarc’s reading: once several makers can show working cells, cost per kWh at volume becomes one of the most important ways to compare them. A published target gives buyers and rivals something to test. Without a comparable figure, it is harder to judge how competitive the technology could be. This is Ludicarc’s reading, not any company’s stated case.

What is the counterpoint?

A target is not a price. Gotion’s figure is long-term and tied to a line Notebookcheck calls a pilot line. Not publishing a figure is not proof of high cost either. Japanese makers may be waiting for yield data. We found no statement explaining why Honda or Toyota have not published a comparable figure.

LUDICARC’S TAKE

The useful reading is not a Honda milestone, because Honda’s line is not new. It is that Gotion has set a public cost target and we found no comparable figure from Honda or Toyota. If Gotion reaches $150/kWh at volume, it still sits above LFP. The contest may be decided by who first shows what the cells cost to produce at scale, and how reliably the factories can produce them. Until then, one side has a published target and the other does not.