Ford-Toyota partnership announced

Mr Uchiyamada (right)

This just in: Ford and Toyota have just announced a joint collaboration to develop a new hybrid system for light trucks and SUVs as well as future telematics standards. The joint venture is expected to produce results towards the end of the decade. The rear-wheel-drive hybrid system to be developed will be based on an all-new architecture.



Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota executive vice president, Research & Development, said: “In 1997, we launched the first-generation Prius, the world’s first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid. Since then, we have sold about 3.3 million hybrid vehicles. We expect to create exciting technologies that benefit society with Ford – and we can do so through the experience the two companies have in hybrid technology.”