Six companies (listed below) that share a common vision for the
widespread use of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in China
today signed a joint venture agreement for the establishment of
United Fuel Cell System R&D (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (FCRD). FCRD's
primary business will be the development of fuel cell systems for
commercial vehicles to contribute to the realization of a clean
mobility society in China. Each company, including Toyota Motor
Corporation and Beijing SinoHytec Co., Ltd. will invest in the
joint venture. Dong Changzheng will be appointed chairman and Ryu
Akita will be chief executive officer (CEO). Plans call for FCRD to
be established in Beijing during 2020.
The six companies participating in the joint venture are as
follows:
- China FAW Corporation Limited (FAW)
- Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DFM)
- Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC GROUP)
- Beijing Automotive Group Co., Ltd. (BAIC GROUP)
- Beijing SinoHytec Co., Ltd. (SinoHytec)
- Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota)
In accordance with the Technology Roadmap for Energy-Saving and New
Energy Vehicles announced by China in 2016, the FCEV market,
primarily for commercial vehicles, is growing at a pace not seen
anywhere else in the world. Based on the belief that industry-wide
efforts to build the foundations for the widespread adoption of
FCEVs under an unprecedented open structure rather than measures by
individual companies will be essential for the spread and firm
establishment of FCEVs in the Chinese market, which is undergoing
these extreme changes, these six companies, which share a common
vision for FCEVs, decided to establish an R&D joint
venture.
The manufacturers of completed vehicles, which represent China's
extensive commercial vehicle development know-how and market
experience along with SinoHytec and Toyota, which have experience
with FC system development as well as results in the market,
believe that they can work together as partners to promote the
spread of FCEVs and develop competitive fuel cell systems that
comply with regulations in China. Specifically, the six companies
will engage in discussions to formulate product plans and create a
single streamlined structure to develop a series of technologies
from components including FC stacks that satisfy performance needs
in China and FC system controls that support those components, to
vehicle installation. The companies believe that by doing this, the
lead time from development to commercialization will be
substantially shortened, making it possible to dramatically
increase the pace of each stage of FCEV proliferation in the
Chinese commercial vehicle market. They will tackle the challenges
of developing low-cost, competitive fuel cell systems and their key
components with superior product strengths including the drive
performance, fuel efficiency, and durability that will be essential
for the widespread adoption of FCEVs.
FCRD will support the proliferation of FCEVs for the creation of a
hydrogen-based society in China, and by promoting and developing
FCEVs, will contribute to solving environmental issues including
reducing CO2 emissions and curtailing air pollution and work to
facilitate the formation of an even better mobility society in
China.
Comments from the head of each company
Vice President of FAW, Wang Guoqiang, stated, "FAW seeks to advance
fuel cell technologies and collaborate with partners that share its
vision to create win-win relationships with all stakeholders in
accordance with the principle of making maximum efforts to preserve
the global environment. By combining our respective strengths and
sharing resources, we eagerly hope to build the fuel cell
development infrastructure that can leverage our respective areas
of superiority, while contributing together to the development of
an environmentally-friendly motorized society."
Vice President of DFM, You Zheng, said, "The development of FCEVs
is about to enter a new era. We believe that the keys to successful
development and widespread use of FCEVs are a shared understanding
of principles by numerous people and collaboration to overcome the
many challenges that will be faced until the hydrogen energy
industry reaches maturity. The establishment of a new joint venture
company by DFM, FAW, BAIC GROUP, GAC GROUP, SinoHytec, and Toyota,
our dedication to researching and developing fuel cell systems for
commercial vehicles, and the creation of infrastructure for the
development of the hydrogen industry is a new endeavor
unprecedented in the history of the automobile industry. DFM has
adopted a more open, more comprehensive, and more feasible vision
to search with its partners for a new path to the development of
environmentally-friendly and low-carbon eco-vehicles. This may be a
long and difficult road, but based on the belief that additional
efforts by the entire industry is critical for achieving the
hydrogen-based society that we seek, the new company will tackle
the challenges and aim to open up new prospects."
President of GAC GROUP, Feng Xingya, commented, "GAC GROUP is
greatly honored to have this opportunity to establish a new joint
venture company with our partners and work for the widespread
adoption of FCEVs in China. I am confident that by developing the
various technologies that will be needed in the Chinese market, the
new company will develop competitive fuel cell systems in a timely
manner, thereby accelerating the adoption of FCEVs in China's
commercial vehicle market, promoting the development of the FCEV
industry in China. This, in turn, will contribute to the
realization of an even better mobility society. GAC GROUP seeks to
promote the development of the fuel cell industry in China with its
partners by focusing its efforts in the new-energy vehicle field
with the aim of supporting the development of society through
ongoing and varied innovation initiatives."
General Manager of BAIC GROUP, Zhang Xiyong, said, "China is one of
the fastest-developing countries in terms of FCEVs, and as we are
about to enter the advancement phase for fuel cell technologies,
use in commercial fields is starting in some regions. As an active
participant in new energy innovation, BAIC GROUP is working with
partners that have a global strategic vision, to investigate the
issues that the Chinese automobile industry is facing and enhance
collaboration in the fuel cell technology innovation and R&D
fields. The new company aims to be an open and cooperative research
and development platform, and believes in being able to combine the
strengths of each company: Toyota with its advanced fuel cell
technology, SinoHytec with great potential in the
system-integrating field, and each complete vehicle manufacturer's
extensive knowledge in the manufacturing and Chinese automobile
market field. We are confident in realizing a hydrogen-based
society in the near future and contributing to a clean energy
revolution in China and even globally, through shared resources and
continuous efforts towards technological innovation by the
respective companies."
Chairman of SinoHytec, Zhang Guoqiang, commented, "There is already
a shared global understanding that the hydrogen industry is an
important means of promoting energy saving and CO2 reductions and
shifting to alternative energy sources. In the automobile industry,
fuel cell systems are believed to be a key solution in achieving
zero-emission vehicles and will play a central role in market
competition. China has an abundance of energy resources that can be
converted to hydrogen and the market is large. Therefore,
expectations are growing for the development of the hydrogen
industry in conjunction with the formulation of related policies. I
believe that the new company will lead to the development of an
open, cooperative, and sharing hydrogen energy industry, the
advancement of hydrogen use and industry, and the formation of
infrastructure for a hydrogen-based society in China."
Operating Officer of Toyota, Shigeki Terashi, said, "FCRD is a
company that holds tremendous significance for Toyota's global FC
strategies. There is no other automobile market with such a sense
of speed, and I am extremely confident that we will gain partners
we can work with toward the shared target of expanding the use of
FCEVs in China. As I regularly state, it is important to find
partners to promote the electrification of cars, and by working
with companies that have considerable influence in China's
commercial vehicle market as well as SinoHytec, which has reliable
technological capabilities, I believe that we will be able to
establish the foundations for the widespread use of FCEVs in China.
Toyota is committed to deepening its undertakings for the
development of the FCEV industry in China through open
collaborative relationships with its partners."
About Toyota Motor Corporation
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is the global mobility company that
introduced the Prius hybrid-electric car in 1997 and the first
mass-produced fuel cell sedan, Mirai, in 2014. Headquartered in
Toyota City, Japan, Toyota has been making cars since 1937. Today,
Toyota proudly employs 370,000 employees in communities around the
world. Together, they build around 10 million vehicles per year in
29 countries, from mainstream cars and premium vehicles to
mini-vehicles and commercial trucks, and sell them in more than 170
countries under the brands Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino. For
more information, please visit www.toyota-global.com.
Source: Toyota Motor Corporation
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