Toyota is one of six companies to have signed a joint venture agreement seeking to develop fuel cell solutions for commercial vehicles in China.
In accordance with the Chinese government’s ‘Technology Roadmap for Energy-Saving and New Energy Vehicles’, announced in 2016, the Chinese FCEV market, primarily for commercial vehicles, is growing at a pace not seen anywhere else in the world.
Six companies decided to establish an R&D joint venture, based on the belief that industry-wide efforts toward the widespread adoption of FCEVs under an unprecedented open structure, rather than measures by individual companies, will be essential for the spread and firm establishment of FCEVs in the Chinese market.
The companies are: China FAW Corporation, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Beijing Automotive Group Co., Beijing SinoHytec Co., and Toyota Motor Corporation.
The manufacturers of completed vehicles, which represent China’s extensive commercial vehicle development know-how and market experience, along with SinoHytec and Toyota, which have experience with FC system development, believe that they can work together as partners to promote the spread of FCEVs and develop competitive fuel cell systems that comply with Chinese regulations.
The companies will engage in discussions to formulate product plans and create a single streamlined structure to develop a series of technologies that satisfy performance needs in China, from components including FC stacks and FC system controls that support those components, and vehicle installation.
The companies believe that by doing this, the lead time from development to commercialization will be substantially shortened, making it possible to dramatically increase the pace of each stage of FCEV proliferation in the Chinese commercial vehicle market.
Jointly they intend to tackle the challenges of developing low-cost, competitive fuel cell systems and their key components, with superior product strengths including the drive performance, fuel efficiency and durability that will be essential for the widespread adoption of FCEVs.