Toyoda Gosei has entered a partnership with a company belonging to the China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC), centred on automobile safety in China.

Its Chinese regional arm, Toyoda Gosei (China) Investment, has signed the agreement with CATARC Component Technology (Tianjin) under which the Japanese parts supplier will speed up development work with CATARC, partly through wider use of computer-aided engineering (CAE) technology.

The agreement covers safety standards and technical innovation, and the company said it also plans to develop products that anticipate local requirements.

CATARC is responsible for setting safety standards and other regulations in China.

Toyoda Gosei said that increasing adoption of EVs and the arrival of new automakers are intensifying competition in the Chinese market.

Its China unit is adjusting its operations in response to these changes, using its technical expertise to create products and proposals tailored to local customers.

“The Toyoda Gosei Group will continue to contribute to safer mobility in society through the development and supply of products that meet the needs of customers in all parts of the world,” the company said.

Last week, Toyoda Gosei said it planned a new plant in India's Maharashtra state as it seeks to reinforce its position in the country's automotive supply chain.

The Rs5.8bn ($60m) facility will be set up by Toyoda Gosei South India in the Maharashtra Bidkin Industrial Area.

Production of large interior and exterior components, including bumpers and instrument panels, is due to start in the first half of 2029.

In July, the company developed production technology to automate the sewing of outer surfaces on automotive interior products.

In June, Toyoda Gosei invested in ElevationSpace, a startup spun out of Japan's Tohoku University. The startup develops re-entry satellites built around its atmospheric reentry technology.