Toyota Sells EV Tech To Chinese Startup

The deal will see Singulato - which was founded in 2014 on a playing field of over 50 EV startups in the highly competitive Chinese market - have access to the designs of Toyota’s discontinued eQ electric vehicle model - which was an electric version of its iQ city car that was itself discontinued in 2016.

According to reporting by Reuters, Singulato plans to speed up development of its iC3 electric vehicle and have it available to consumers in China by 2021.

The iC3 will be a redesigned eQ, with improved electric vehicle technology - which has progressed considerably since the eQ was discontinued in 2012.

Toyota hasn’t simply sold its technology to the small Chinese company - in return it will reportedly get preferential rights to purchase green car credits that will be generated by Singulato using China’s new quota system for electric vehicles, potentially allowing Toyota to offset sales of internal combustion engines in what is the world’s largest car market.

The arrangement also allows Toyota to embed itself further into the Chinese market through not just the proliferation of its technology, but through distribution channels and alliances.

A source within Toyota told Reuters that it was important for the company to shares its “century’s lead in automotive technology” with new companies on the block.

While details of the transaction are not expected to be released, Singulato reportedly paid tens of millions for the technology and the designs - which could be well worth it given the popularity of small electric vehicles in China’s busy cities.

CEO of Singulato, Shen Haiyin said that the company was aiming for the iC3 to have a range of between 250-300km and be priced at around 100,000 yuan, or AU$20,000.

Singulato has lofty goals, with plans to sell 200,000 iC3’s within five years of its release in 2021.