The electric models from Toyota will be labelled under GAC Motor which is the partner for Toyota in Chinese market.
China is going to be number one market for EV cars in coming years. The government has officially announced that from next year onwards 10 percent of total sales of each manufacturer should come from new energy vehicle which is either plug-in hybrid models or fully electric car. Most of the manufacturers are working on ways to achieve the 10 percent sales.
Even though most of the manufacturers are developing fully electric vehicles they are not upto the level of mass manufacturing these models. But there are lots of start ups and local Chinese companies which are already manufacturing electric cars for mass market. Toyota is the global leader in sales and the Japanese manufacturer has found a new way to meet this new rule.
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The electric models from Toyota will be labelled under GAC Motor which is the partner for Toyota in Chinese market. This move will certainly help GAC Motors to develop more global cars with the help of Toyota and they get to learn technologies from the global giant. Even though it will be branded under GAC Motors, the products will meet the strict quality of Toyota which the company is famous.
GAC Motors will also use the sales network of Toyota to sell these cars across China. Inturn, this will help Toyota meet the 10 percent rule of Chinese government. Toyota is currently developing a new electric car for the global and Chinese market but this car will debut only in 2020 which is why the company took this route to address the problem.
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Toyota showcased iX4 concept at the Beijing Motor Show and the production model will be based on GAC’s Trumpchi GS4. This model is under development for couple of years and GAC Toyota iX4 will use the battery from Trumpchi GS4. Toyota also revealed Corolla and Levin plug-in hybrid models at Beijing Motor Show which will be launched next year in China.
Toyota was focusing on hydrogen powered cars as the replacement for gasoline but the new law of China forced the company to change its decision and focus on EVs. Ford is waiting for regulatory approval for Chinese specific EV brand. Toyota is negotiating a similar deal with its second partner FAW Group but no decision has been taken yet.