Daimler, a manufacturer of trucks in Germany, Toyota, the largest carmaker in Japan, and two other automakers said on Tuesday that they would collaborate to develop new technologies, such as the use of hydrogen fuel, to combat climate change.
The firms announced a merger between Hino Motors, a truck manufacturer in the Toyota group, and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., whose largest shareholder is Daimler Truck.
Without providing a price for the transaction, Daimler Truck and Toyota Motor Corp. said that they would each participate equally in the holding company of the Mitsubishi-Hino merger.
The businesses want to work together to reduce carbon emissions and create new technologies including electric automobiles, net-connected services, and autonomous driving.
According to Toyota Motor Corp. Chief Executive Koji Sato, “This partnership between our four companies is a partnership for creating the future of commercial vehicles in Japan and the future of a mobility society.”
The CEOs said that in order to compete worldwide, the two truck businesses would focus on commercial vehicle development, procurement, and manufacture.
Because trucks and buses keep the world moving, we at Daimler Truck are very proud of our products. According to Martin Daum, chief executive officer of Daimler Truck, “and soon they will even do so with zero emissions.”
“Today's announcement is an important step towards leading sustainable transport and making that future economically viable.”
Automakers are working quickly to keep up with the worldwide transition to cleaner cars and to contribute in other ways to the fight against climate change.
Major sources of motor emissions are trucks and buses used for business. Rivals may sometimes work together to achieve a competitive advantage and reduce costs via “economies of scale” or by sharing resources and information.
“Staying on your own is difficult. Collaboration is essential, according to Sato.
Toyota's buses in Japan are powered by fuel cells, but its expertise is in hybrid vehicles, which combine petrol engines and electric motors similar to EVs.
