Toyota reportedly plans to launch hydrogen fuel cell car models with Chinese partners Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) and FAW Group to boost its presence in the world's biggest vehicle market.
Toyota would also supply GAC and their joint venture's car models with fuel cells, Reuters reported, citing a GAC filing to the Shanghai stock exchange.
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The companies did not disclose financial details of the projects which increase cooperation among the partners to develop new energy vehicle and connectivity technologies, the report said.
Toyota would also expand cooperation on hybrid vehicles and aim to launch more battery electric vehicles with "good quality and low prices" separately with FAW and GAC.
Sources had told Reuters last year Toyota planned to sell electric vehicles under the GAC brand through the JV dealerships, in a move to meet China's strict green car quotas.
The new development plan reflected gestures of goodwill to Beijing by Toyota whose chief executive Akio Toyoda wants to "step on the accelerator in China" while needing "to strike a fine balance between China and the United States", Reuters said, citing minutes of internal meetings it had seen.
Toyota sold around 1.5m cars in China in 2018, far below General Motors' and Volkswagen's tallies there.
However, it was laying the foundation to increase sales in China to 2m a year, Reuters reported last year.
Toyota in April said it had started supplying fuel cell parts to commercial vehicle makers Beiqi Foton Motor and Beijing SinoHytec.
In July it said it would supply key hydrogen fuel cell components to FAW and Higer Bus.
Toyota would also share resources and talent to develop "intelligent connected" vehicles with GAC and FAW.
