Toyota will partner with Mazda and auto parts supplier Denso to form a joint venture for developing electric vehicles, as Japan’s biggest automaker plays catch-up in the expanding race for battery driven cars. So why is Mazda eager to work with Toyota? Mazda, who has sales are one eighth of Toyota’s, only has a research budget of 140 billion yen per year compared to Toyota’s one trillion yen. The result? Mazda just isn’t able to produce an electric car with technology as refined
Toyota on the other hand is perfectly placed to enter the EV market, and has already committed to sustainable transport. Last year, the Japanese company said all of its new cars will have zero emissions by 2050, and it also opened an all-new division, specifically for developing electric vehicles.
Mazda has been a champion for re-inventing the combustion engine (diesel and petrol Skyactiv) in making it even more efficient, to the point of being almost on par with hybrid car efficiency.
The new company, called EV Common Architecture Spirit Co., will cooperate on developing the architecture and components of electric cars for use in a wide range of segments, from minivehicles and SUVs to light trucks, the companies said last Thursday.
The partnership will create a toolbox of components that both Toyota and Mazda can dip into when making their own electric vehicles. The deal builds on a fledgling alliance between the country’s largest automaker and one of its smallest that was cemented in August.
The companies announced a capital tie up then, saying they would work together in a variety of fields, including electric cars. Toyota Executive Vice President Shigeki Terashi said at the time that sharing technology would give Mazda and Toyota extra volume and drive down costs.
The companies said increasingly stringent emissions regulations were forcing carmakers worldwide to develop electric vehicles. But the high cost of electric cars, driven partly by their expensive batteries, makes it necessary for erstwhile rivals to pool resources. The new venture, they said, will be open to participation from other automaker and suppliers going forward.
