Toyota, Mazda and Denso form new company for EV development

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota), Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) and Denso Corporation (Denso) have agreed to jointly develop basic structural technologies for electric vehicles. The three companies will set up a new entity with each one providing engineers for effective implementation of the joint technological developments.

Many countries have announced the shift to electric/hybrid vehicles, and some of them are even mandating the automakers to sell a percentage of models as electric cars. The timely development of electric vehicles in many markets across the segments is difficult for a single automaker. Keeping this in mind, the three Japanese companies have come together to develop basic structural technologies for EVs through various segments like small cars, minivans, SUVs and light trucks. This joint venture aims to utilize Mazda's computer modelling-based development, Denso's electronics technologies, and the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform.

The main aim of the company will be to research into the common platform for upcoming EVs, testing the various platforms and their individual components and optimizing the use of each part to its most suitable platform. The companies also aim to create a business structure that is open to participation by other automakers and suppliers.

The new company will be called as EV C.A. Spirit Corporation and will be located at Nagoya, Japan. Toyota will invest 90% of the capital while the other two will contribute 5% each. Denso along with Suzuki has recently set up a Lithium-ion factory in Gujarat.