BYD Company Ltd. (BYD) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) signed an agreement establishing a joint company to research and develop battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
The new R&D company, which will work on designing and developing BEVs (including platform) and related parts, is anticipated to be established in China in 2020, with BYD and Toyota to evenly share 50 percent of the total capital needed. Additionally, BYD and Toyota plan to staff the new company by transferring engineers and the jobs currently involved in related R&D from their respective companies.
“We aim to combine BYD’s strengths in development and competitiveness in the battery electric vehicle market with Toyota’s quality and safety technology to provide the best BEV products for the market demand and consumer affection as early as we can,” said BYD Senior Vice President Lian Yu-bo.
Toyota Executive Vice President Shigeki Terashi added, “With the same goal to further promote the widespread use of electrified vehicles, we appreciate that BYD and Toyota can become teammates, able to put aside our rivalry and collaborate. We hope to further advance and expand both BYD and Toyota from the efforts of the new company with BYD.”
With the newly established joint R&D company, Toyota and BYD aim to work together to further develop BEVs that are attractive to Chinese customers, and by further promoting their widespread adoption, aim to contribute toward environmental improvement.
