Amid ratcheted-up plans and global forecasts for electric vehicles, Toyota and Mazda are teaming up to develop EV technology.
A new venture by Toyota (90 percent), Mazda (5 percent), and supplier Denso (5 percent) aims to establish a shared architecture for electric vehicles?including common components ?transcending differences in vehicle class and power.? The trio will develop ?basic structural technologies for EVs covering a wide range of vehicle segments and types.? Although the release about the new organization, which was given the unglamorous name EV C.A. Spirit, doesn?t call out specifics, it suggests that the companies hope to develop a scalable battery system and a unified tool kit of motors, inverters, and control software?elements that are the very backbone of an electric car. This builds neatly on a strategic partnership between Toyota and Mazda, formalized in 2015, that licenses Toyota?s hybrid technology to Mazda (for other markets) through at least 2020 and has the companies sharing costs for the Mexico plant that builds the Mazda CX-3 and the Toyota Yaris iA. The new EV venture might not hire many?if any?engineers, as the plan would involve a transfer of some full-time engineers from each company.
From Viability to Profitability
While falling battery costs and advancements in energy density have made electric cars a lot more viable in recent years, they?re not due to be a very significant portion of the market even well into the next decade. Thus, it make...