BYD Company Ltd. (BYD) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) recently announced that preparations have proceeded since they signed an agreement for the establishment of a joint venture company to conduct research and development of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) on November 7, 2019, and registration of the new company has been completed.
Operations are scheduled to commence in May 2020. The name of the new company is BYD TOYOTA EV TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (BTET). Hirohisa Kishi from Toyota will serve as chairman, and Zhao Binggen from BYD will be the chief executive officer (CEO).
“With the engineers from BYD and Toyota working together under the same roof, we aim to develop BEVs that are superior in performance and meet the needs of customers in China by merging the two companies’ strengths and also through friendly rivalry.”, said Hirohisa Kishi, New Chairman with regard to the establishment of the company.
Newly appointed CEO, Zhao Binggen commented, “This joint venture company will focus on the research and development of battery electric vehicles with technology and know-how from both China and Japan. The company is committed to promoting and populating high-quality technologies that make battery electric vehicles more environmentally friendly, safe, comfortable, and intelligent. Our vision is to create a future customer-first mobility style, and harmonious society for humans and nature.”
BYD and Toyota will work together to meet the diverse needs of customers by researching and developing BEVs that appeal to customers and promoting their widespread adoption and also hope to contribute to improving the environment in China.
Recently Toyota and Panasonic Established Joint Venture for Automotive Prismatic Batteries. This decision comes just over a year since the two companies announced on January 22, 2019, that they had concluded a business integration contract and a joint-venture contract toward the establishment of a new company. The new joint venture entity will have a 51 percent stake of Toyota and 49 percent Panasonic. It commenced operations from April 1, 2020.
Earlier Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced that it will provide a full line-up of electrified vehicles, including unique versions of certain vehicles as well as vehicles developed primarily to support the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
