May 14, 2015—Toyota and Mazda announced a “long-term partnership” on Wednesday that it said will deepen collaboration on products manufacturing and technology, according to a report from Automotive News.
The carmakers will form a joint committee to evaluate “how best to utilize each company’s respective strengths,” the companies said in a statement.
During the announcement of the partnership at a joint press conference, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda and Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai declined to offer specific examples of what the partnership might deliver. However, Joint manufacturing, hybrid vehicles and fuel cells are all reportedly possibilities.
The announcement comes amid reports that the companies are currently exploring numerous projects together. Among them is an arrangement where Toyota would supply Mazda with its hydrogen fuel cell system and plug-in hybrid technology, in exchange for receiving Mazda’s fuel-efficient Skyactiv gasoline and diesel engine technology.
The report said this latest partnership is part of a growing trend where automakers are pooling resources on expensive green car development.
The volume that Toyota could stand to gain from selling fuel cell and plug-in hybrid systems to Mazda may help boost scale and lower manufacturing costs. Although much larger in scale, Toyota has said that they have much to learn from Mazda, their smaller counterpart.
