Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic) today concluded a business integration contract and a joint venture contract towards the establishment of a new company (joint venture) related to the automotive prismatic battery business. Major points of the agreements: – Toyota and Panasonic will establish a joint venture (pending approval from the competition law… Continue reading Toyota and Panasonic Agree to Establish Joint Venture Related to Automotive Prismatic Batteries
Tag: Toyota
Exclusive: Tesla holds battery supply talks with China’s Lishen
BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has held talks with China’s Tianjin Lishen to supply batteries for its new Shanghai factory, and two people with direct knowledge of the matter said the pair signed a preliminary agreement. FILE PHOTO: Visitors are seen at the booth of Lishen Battery at a… Continue reading Exclusive: Tesla holds battery supply talks with China’s Lishen
Exclusive: Tesla says it received battery quotes from China’s Lishen but no deal agreed
BEIJING (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) said on Tuesday it had received quotes from Tianjin Lishen to supply batteries for its new Shanghai electric car factory but had not signed any agreement with the Chinese firm. FILE PHOTO: Visitors are seen at the booth of Lishen Battery at a new energy expo in Beijing, China… Continue reading Exclusive: Tesla says it received battery quotes from China’s Lishen but no deal agreed
Toyota brings back the Supra sports car after almost two decades
Toyota reveals the first new Supra in the US in 21 years
9:48 AM ET Mon, 14 Jan 2019 | 01:22
With the new Supra sports car, Toyota is bringing back a car that is probably one of the Japanese automaker's most beloved names.
But don't expect it to be a huge seller, say analysts.
That is not because the car is a dud. It is expected to be a higher-end product and has been reported to have engines sourced from German manufacturer BMW.
But production is expected to be lower volume, and the car is likely to cater to enthusiasts and serve as a halo vehicle to create buzz for the rest of Toyota's lineup.
Source: Toyota
2020 Toyota Supra
The Supra is a resurrection of a car Toyota has not made since 2002. It began as a variant of Toyota's now also defunct Celica in 1978, but was spun off as its own model in 1986. It became known as one of the most famous Japanese tuner cars of the '80s and '90s.
Apart from the reputation it earned on its own, the Supra also was famous for being featured in “The Fast and the Furious” movie franchise, in which it was driven by the late actor Paul Walker.
The car will go on sale this summer. It will have a 3.0-liter turbo six-cylinder 335-horsepower engine and an automatic transmission with paddle shifters. Toyota says the car should be able to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.1 seconds. It will have an electronically limited speed of 155 mph.
Buyers will have their choice of two trim levels, the base 3.0 model and a 3.0 Premium.
Toyota's President Akio Toyoda tested the car himself on the famed Nurburgring track in Germany, as well as elsewhere around the world.
The car will likely not come cheap, and it is not meant to be a high-volume car, said LMC Automotive President of Global Forecasting Jeff Schuster.
“It's absolutely for enthusiasts,” he said. “The name is one of those names that has some history to it. Obviously, not as much as a Mustang or a Challenger, but in its space of more of the super-tuner type of vehicle it carries a lot of weight. There is no question it will get a lot of buzz around it. But for all intents and purposes it is meant to be a small volume vehicle, at least from our expectation.”
Disclosure: “The Fast and the Furious” movies were produced by Universal Studios, which like CNBC is owned by Comcast.
CORRECTION: This article was updated to correct the car's history. It was last produced 17 years ago.
BMW plans to tone down styling of its electric cars
BMW i Vision Dynamics concept, 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show
To stand out, or not to stand out. That is the question many electric automakers are asking as electric cars transition from being something new and different to being just another drive system for all types of cars.
Among the most recognizable electric-car designs are those that stand out from the crowd: The original Nissan Leaf, the Toyota Prius Prime, the BMW i3.
CHECK OUT: 2019 BMW i3 to get bigger battery with 153-mile range
Now electric cars are going more mainstream, according to an October interview with BMW styling director Adrian van Hooydonk in the British publication Autocar, so there's no reason to make them look so different.
“BMW customers want a dynamic car, whether it is a battery-electric vehicle or not,” van Hooydonk told Autocar. “So there’s is increasingly less reason to make these kinds of cars look different.”
READ THIS: BMW Vision iNext electric concept redefines German luxury flagship
It has been a long-running debate among designers of hybrid and electric vehicles. People buy cars to make a statement, just as they might buy a jacket or shoes. Early hybrid and electric car buyers wanted their support for the environment, or at least their reduced petroleum consumption.
Driving an ordinary-looking car didn't accomplish that. Onlookers had no reason to strike up a conversation to ask why they were driving it.
BMW Vision iNext concept
BMW's change of heart is another sign that electric cars are moving beyond early adopters to more mainstream buyers—known as the “early majority,” among marketers. The early majority accepts that early adopters have proven a technology, and wants to establish that it is now mainstream.
Building good-looking, but mainstream, cars with electric powertrains accomplishes that goal.
DON'T MISS: All-electric BMW i4 to be production version of i Vision Dynamics concept
BMW executives have announced that instead of building completely separate designs for electric cars—such as the i3 and i8 with their carbon-fiber chassis and aluminum floor pans—the brand will work to develop electric versions of all of its primary cars, such as the upcoming 2020 iX3 SUV, which is an electric version of the X3, and the 2019 Mini Cooper S E, an electric version of the standard Mini hatchback.
Other upcoming BMW electric-car concepts show a mixed approach. The luxurious and nominally self-driving Vision iNext luxury SUV, which could inspire a production model in about 2022, is all harsh angles, with odd wings and big pillarless glass. It will definitely stand out on the road.
BMW's Vision Dynamics concept is a sleek four-door sedan that previews the company's next electric car (after the iX3 and the Mini Cooper S E), an electric version of the elegant-looking but relatively mainstream 4-series. It will also stand out on the road—but for its elegance, not just its brash, indifferent, difference.
Toyota and Panasonic to jointly make electric-car batteries, explore solid-state tech
Panasonic Li-Ion EV battery
Toyota has been a laggard in the race to transition to electric cars. The company was an early leader in fuel-efficient hybrids, but has since focused on developing fuel-cell vehicles, and executives have expressed skepticism about electric cars and lithium-ion batteries.
Now in an effort to accelerate its move to electric cars, the company may be pairing up with the largest manufacturer of lithium-ion battery cells in the world for electric cars, Panasonic. Panasonic also supplies batteries for Tesla, built at the giant Nevada Gigafactory that the two jointly own.
CHECK OUT: Lithium-ion vs. nickel-metal hydride: Toyota still likes both for its hybrids
The Nikkei Asian Review reported Sunday that the two companies plan to set up a joint battery manufacturing plant in 2020 to produce batteries for more than 5.5 million electric cars. Reuters followed with another report of the venture, citing a source of its own.
Under the venture as it's been reported so far, Toyota will own 51 percent of the factory, and Panasonic will own the rest. Batteries produced at the factory will supply not only Toyota but also companies that have signed on as partners with Toyota to develop electric cars. These include Mazda and Subaru.
Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota and Kazuhiro Tsuga, President, Panasonic
Honda also sources electric-car batteries from Panasonic, and Nikkei reports that the companies hope that they can also sell the new batteries to Honda.
READ THIS: Panasonic says solid-state batteries are still 10 years off
Toyota and Panasonic will also reportedly work together to develop next-generation solid-state lithium-ion batteries, which are expected to provide increased range with less weight and cost for electric cars. They could also be less flammable to improve safety.
Toyota has been working to find other chemistries that would be useful for electric cars. It announced in 2017 that it plans to put solid-state battery tech into a production vehicle in the early part of the next decade.
DON'T MISS: VW is planning to build 15 million electric vehicles
The two companies signed an agreement in 2017 to explore the tie-up that Nikkei reported this week.
Toyota has set a goal to sell 5.5 million electric cars by 2030. That still lags behind Volkswagen, the world's second-largest automaker after Toyota. Volkswagen has announced plans to build 10 million vehicles a year by 2027.
More about Byton, tamer BMW electrics, Toyota batteries, more chargers: Today’s Car News
Byton M-Byte concept
BMW says it plans to make its electric cars look more mainstream to move beyond sales to early adopters. Toyota and Panasonic could be teaming up to produce electric-car batteries and solid-state technology. And Maryland approves plans for 5,000 electric-car chargers to attract more electric cars to the East Coast. All this and more on Green Car Reports.
The three electric cars that Byton is developing are designed more to appeal more to passengers than drivers, the brand's chief engineer told Green Car Reports. Other than their 48-inch cross-dash screen and advanced interface, they'll take advantage of off-the-shelf EV parts from top suppliers.
BMW says its upcoming electric cars won't stand out as much, with more conventionally attractive styling to appeal to more mainstream buyers.
Toyota might be teamed up with Tesla-supplier Panasonic to develop and build new batteries for electric cars, as the world's largest automaker begins its transition to electric cars.
In an effort to attract more electric cars, Maryland has approved a plan for the state's utilities to install 5,000 new electric-car chargers, including Level 2 chargers and Level 3 DC fast chargers along highways.
Google Maps has announced that the software will now display speed-limit information in Android Auto to help drivers keep track between signs as they use the system's navigation function.
Finally, after setting a world's record climbing Pike's Peak, Volkswagen plans to take its electric ID R race car to the famous German Nürburgring race track to challenge the lap record there.
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Toyota Will Team Up With Panasonic On High Capacity EV Batteries
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The true story of Carlos Ghosn
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Toyota, Panasonic setting up EV battery JV amid rising China competition: source
TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Panasonic Corp (6752.T) are set to launch a joint venture next year to produce batteries for electric vehicles (EV) in an effort to compete with Chinese rivals, a source familiar with the matter said. Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda (L) and Panasonic Corp President Kazuhiro Tsuga… Continue reading Toyota, Panasonic setting up EV battery JV amid rising China competition: source