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Bloomberg
Toyota Motor and BYD agreed to jointly develop electric vehicles in China, the latest in a series of deals between a major global automaker and Chinese manufacturer.
The two companies will work together on electric sedans and sports-utility vehicles with the goal of introducing them during 2020 to 2025, they said in a statement. The partnership also includes the development of batteries for the vehicles, they said.
The partnership underscores Toyota’s ambitions to use electric vehicles to break into China, the market where the company remains a laggard. The carmaker is seeking to narrow the gap with rivals including Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co in the next decade, which has fuelled a global race among them to secure battery supplies.
Toyota announced a deal to buy batteries from Contemporary Amperex Technology Co, China’s largest EV battery maker. After years of focussing on hybrid and fuel-cell technology, Toyota is embracing all-electric cars. The maker of the Prius is forecasting annual sales of 5.5 million EVs globally in 2025, after moving up its prior target by five years.