Toyota and BYD have formed a joint company tasked with developing battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from the platform-up. It will be based in China and be established in 2020.
The joint-venture will be funded on a 50:50 basis by the two, and run by existing staff, mostly engineers, from both parent companies.
It looks like a case of “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is” for Chinese vehicle manufacturer BYD, who has killed off plans for the production of a low-cost electric vehicle.
BYD Auto’s deputy general manager, Wang Jianjun, confirmed the F3e – originally shown at the 2006 Beijing Auto Show – would never make production due to a lack of support in the current Chinese climate.
Reports from India this morning say Germany's Daimler is set to sell its long-time stake in Tata Motors.
Daimler, who own a 5.34 per cent stake in the Indian company, gave no comment on a its decision to sell the shares. Estimates put Daimler's return on the sale at US$429 million (AUD$470 million).
The news comes as Daimler forms a number of new automotive partnerships, recently purchasing shares in both US firm Tesla Motors and China's BYD.
