China's BYD Co Ltd and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp are planning to set up a new joint venture company in Japan that will focus on developing new battery-powered electric vehicles. The companies, which both made the announcement on Thursday, hopes to capitalize on their respective strengths to transform the global EV sector.
The new electric vehicle joint venture will be called BYD Toyota EV Technology Co Ltd. Both companies reportedly already agreed on the terms of the joint venture last year and signed an agreement to establish the company back in November. The joint venture company is set to begin operations in May this year.
BYD and Toyota have appointed Hirohisa Kishi, Toyota's current powertrain boss, as chairman of the new joint venture firm. The new chairman mentioned in a statement that the joint venture will aim to develop superior battery electric technologies to meet the needs of customers in China. He added that with experienced engineers from both companies all working under the same roof, the goal is achievable.
Working with Hirohisa will be BYD veteran Zhao Bingen, who has been appointed as the joint venture's new chief executive officer. Zhao mentioned in a statement that know-how from both BYD and Toyota will be merged and utilized by the company to develop more advanced battery-electric technologies that will benefit both parties. Through cooperation and friendly rivalry, the two companies hope to build technologies that will promote environmental friendliness, safety, Intelligence, and comfort.
Both BYD and Toyota are at the forefront of electric mobility technologies in their respective countries. The companies are separately developed numerous EV platforms and technologies that are driving the sector forward into more widespread adoption. By combining the strengths to compensate for each other's weaknesses, the new joint venture company should prove to be a formidable competitor in the EV space not only in China but also globally.
Both parties have expressed their commitment to work together to achieve their vision of creating a future that is customer-centric and harmonious for both society and nature. By jointly developing EV technologies, Toyota and BYD can take advantage of scale and reduce overall costs through various synergies. The two companies can then utilize the technologies developed by the joint venture for their existing platforms.
Apart from developing new technologies, the joint venture company will also be researching to identify customer needs and to develop the right technologies that will appeal to the masses. This in turn should hopefully promote widespread adoption of the technology.
