Two of the world’s largest car makers, Toyota and Ford, have agreed to collaborate on a new hybrid system for light trucks and SUVs. Having signed a memorandum of understanding, the two firms have agreed to work as equal partners, with the long term view of developing a rear-wheel drive powertrain to be installed in separate vehicles for each brand.
As part of the deal, the two car manufacturers also agreed to work towards creating common standards for web based services.
Derrick Kuzak, Ford's head of product development, commented: "This agreement brings together the capability of two global leaders in hybrid vehicles and hybrid technology to develop a better solution more quickly and affordably,"
As part of a separate project, the pair have also agreed to work on improving navigation, telecommunications and entertainment services in their vehicles.
In terms of credentials, Toyota has a longer history in the realm of hybrid and electric technology. It often seems that the notion of electric motors in cars is a very new idea, but Toyota had electric motors in its Prius range (as part of a petrol-electric hybrid system) as early as 1997.
The two car companies sell a huge number of SUVs and light trucks both in the USA and globally. There may be some PR work for the companies to do in terms of persuading often very traditional, male buyers that petrol-electric hybrids can do a comparable job to petrol-only vehicles, and will not increase the need to call for car breakdown services or indeed suffer under performance.
It is unlikely that there are two better vehicle manufacturers for the job of tackling hybrids in SUVs and light trucks, and making them cheaper to run and better for the environment. It’s certainly a challenge – and many will be watching closely to see how they do
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