Toyota will develop electric vehicles by itself and left joint venture with Tesla; sold its 3.15% stake in the American brand
Japanese auto giant Toyota has ended its seven year old tie-up with American EV manufacturer Tesla. With this, Toyota will try to develop electric vehicle on its own. Toyota says that its electric vehicle development partnership with Tesla ended in late 2016 and now, the company has sold its 3.15% stake in Tesla that it bought at a cost of $50 million in 2010.
Toyota has already shown its interest to develop electric powertrains and electric cars indigenously. For that, the auto major has formed an electric car division in November 2016 that is led by Toyota’s president. The company is also expected to step up investment for the in-house EV project. Under the EV tie-up between Tesla and Toyota, two companies developed electric powered SUVs and sold around 2,500 units in California and some other markets as well.
Also read: New Toyota EV Company Launching to Develop Electric Cars
While all the auto manufacturers around the world are boosting their development towards electric powertrain technology, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen fuel cell technologies are also other options various companies are working on across the world. Toyota is a leading name in that front.
The Japanese automaker already has models like Camry and Prius that have garnered positive response. In India too, Toyota has proved to be a leading brand when it comes to introducing eco-friendly cars. Toyota has cleared that it will support the hydrogen fuel cell as an alternative environment friendly powertrain technology option. But, it also clears that electric vehicles have better chance to become popular compared to hydrogen fuel cell and therefore it will focus on the EVs.
Also read: 2017 Toyota Prius Launched in India at Rs. 38.96 Lakh
Toyota’s first indigenously developed electric vehicle is going to be a SUV that will come with around 300 km range. This car is expected to launch in 2020 and it will share the platform with Prius. Also, the company is expected to roll out a fully electric version of the Aygo hatchback as well.
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