Toyota ties-up with Tesla group to develop electric cars
Toyota Motors, the world's largest car maker, is gearing-up to go greener with developing new electric cars in coming months. The company has signed an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc on Friday to develop electric vehicles. According to Tesla Motors, it will deliver prototypes of two electric vehicles to Japanese auto giant by the end of this month.
Mr Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota group, had stated on Friday that through this partnership, by working together with a venture business such as Tesla, Toyota would like to learn from the challenging spirit, quick decision-making, and flexibility that Tesla has. He added that by joining hands with Tesla, his hope is that all Toyota employees will recall that ‘venture business spirit,’ and take on the challenges of the future.
Toyota group had rolled out the first-generation Prius hybrid vehicle in the year 1997, and since then, it has produced more than 2.5 million units of its hybrid cars worldwide. The company had introduced Prius Plug-in Hybrids, which could be charged using an external power source such as a household electric outlet.
California, U.S.A based Tesla group has sold more than 1000 Roadsters to the customers in its major markets like North America, Europe and Asia. The company designs and manufactures EVs and EV powertrain components. Tesla is the only carmaker in the US market which manufactures and sells highway-capable EVs in serial production.