Toyota, Mazda, and Denso Partner to Develop Electric Vehicles

Toyota, Mazda, and Denso have together formed a joint venture that will focus on the development of electric vehicles.

The joint venture, which will be called EV C.A Spirit Corporation, will be 90 percent owned by Toyota, with Mazda and Denso each taking a 5 percent stake. Toyota may be shouldering the vast majority of the financial expense, but the automaker is eager to join up with Mazda as its engineers have impressed the industry with breakthroughs such as its new compression ignition engine, according to Reuters.

“Mazda, Denso, and Toyota have decided to jointly develop basic structural technologies for EVs capable of covering a wide variety of vehicle segments and types to ensure flexible and rapid response to market trends,” a Toyota said in a release. “This agreement covers a diverse range of models, from minivehicles to passenger vehicles, SUVs, and light trucks, and aims to innovate the development process by combining the strengths of each company, including Mazda’s bundled product planning and prowess in computer modeling-based development, Denso’s electronics technologies, and the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform.”

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Based on Toyota’s statements, it sounds as though Toyota will lend its expertise in vehicle architectures to the joint venture, while Mazda will take care of product planning and computer modeling. Denso, a Japanese components supplier which specializes in spark plugs, alternators, and other small components, should bring a wealth of expertise in regards to vehicle electronics and parts sourcing.

The cost of developing hybrids and EVs is taking a bite out of profits and automakers are beginning to look at ways to reduce overhead. This joint venture will allow Toyota and Mazda, which are lagging behind the competition in regards to electrification, to rapidly develop hybrid and electric vehicle systems with a reduced investment. Mazda has said it wants to bring EVs to market by 2020, while Toyota is planning long-range, fast-charging EVs for 2022. It seems as though we’ll be seeing the fruits of this joint venture first appear in about two to three years’ time.

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