Ford Motor Co. (F) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM, 7203.TO) are
scrapping a partnership to jointly develop a hybrid,
gasoline-electric powertrain system for light-duty trucks after two
years of work.
The split comes as Ford is gaining share of hybrid
gasoline-electric vehicle sales, and hiring engineers to develop
new vehicles, including more hybrids. Ford said its own
hybrid-drive system for pickups and large SUVs would be available
by the end of the decade.
Toyota dominates sales of the U.S. hybrid-vehicle market
primarily through its Prius line. But Ford has gained ground in
hybrids during the past year with its C-Max hybrid and
gasoline-electric versions of its Fusion and Lincoln MKZ
sedans.
On Tuesday, Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford said its second-quarter
sales of hybrid vehicles rose more than five times from a year ago
to more than 24,000 vehicles, to a 16% share of the U.S.
electrified-vehicle market.
Building a pickup truck or sport-utility vehicle with a hybrid
system could help meet coming federal fuel-economy standards. That
is particularly important to Ford, which is the top seller of
full-size pickup trucks in the U.S. and so far has held Toyota's
efforts to gain significant share in the large pickup segment at
bay.
"We know what it takes to build world-class hybrids, and we now
will build and leverage that expertise in-house," said Raj Nair,
group vice president of Ford's global product development. "By
continuing to develop a rear-wheel-drive hybrid system on our own,
we can extend our advanced hybrid technologies to new vehicle
segments."
Ford and Toyota announced a feasibility study for collaborating
on a light-duty truck hybrid system in August 2011. Both companies
said Tuesday they continue to evaluate the possibility of working
together on next-generation standards for telematics and will
consider other areas for future collaboration, Toyota said in a
statement.
Separately, Ford said it would hire 3,000 white-collar workers
in the U.S. this year, 800 more than previously anticipated and
primarily in technical fields. So far this year, Ford has hired
about 1,500, about 80% of which are in information technology,
engineering and software design.
The migration of gadgets and computers into vehicles has forced
car companies to begin hiring talent from Silicon Valley and other
consumer electronics fields.
Ford said it is also hiring 200 "electrification engineers" and
expanding research facilities to increase development of
hybrids.
"We have about 1,500 positions to fill by the end of the year,"
said Felicia Fields. Ford is launching a new advertising campaign
using social media to help recruit the workers it needs. "We have
to work much harder to find the talent."
Hiring by auto makers has been a bright spot in the U.S. over
the past four years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
auto-parts companies, parts suppliers and auto dealers have added
220,000 jobs since the summer of 2009.
Indeed, the automotive industry has accounted for nearly 20% of
the growth in total gross domestic product during that four-year
period, said Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Ford's chief economist.
Write to Mike Ramsey at michael.ramsey@wsj.com
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