China-based BYD Company Ltd (BYD) and Toyota Motor Corporation have announced that the operation of their new company will be launched in 2020.

The name of the new company will be called BYD Toyota EV Technology Co. Ltd (BTET). The company will be involved in the design and development of battery-run electric vehicles and their platforms and related parts. The equity participation of both companies is 50% each.

The two parties signed an agreement for the establishment of a joint venture company to conduct research and development of battery electric vehicles on November 7, 2019.

Hirohisa Kishi from Toyota will serve as the chairman, and Zhao Binggen from BYD will be the chief executive officer (CEO), added the company statement.

Kishi said, “With the engineers from BYD and Toyota working together under the same roof, we aim to develop BEVs that are superior in performance and meet the needs of customers in China by merging the two companies’ strengths and also through friendly rivalry.”

The head office of the company will be located in Shenzhen city in Guangdong province of China.

Newly appointed CEO Zhao Binggen commented, “This joint venture company will focus on the research and development of battery electric vehicles with technology and know-how from both China and Japan. The company is committed to promoting and populating high-quality technologies that make battery electric vehicles more environmentally friendly, safe, comfortable, and intelligent. Our vision is to create a future customer-first mobility style and a harmonious society for humans and nature.”

In February 2020, Toyota Motor and Panasonic Corporation joined hands to establish a joint venture specializing in automotive prismatic batteries for electric vehicles. The joint venture will be called Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, Inc.

Meanwhile, last month, Mercom reported that a team of researchers led by Hun-Gi Jung at the Center for Energy Storage Research at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has claimed to have come up with silicon anode materials that can increase the battery capacity by four times as compared to the traditional graphite anode materials.