Auto giants General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. jointly announced Monday that they will cooperate on research and development for environmentally friendly high-tech vehicles over the next five years, including fuel-cell, electric and hybrid cars.

GM and Toyota will research and develop common standards for electric motor and control components for the cars, the two companies said.

Also included in the projects are R&D for the powertrain and control system of next-generation hybrid vehicles, and selection and processing technologies of materials for fuel cells, the firms said.

GM and Toyota agreed last year to jointly develop a battery-charging system for electric vehicles. This effort will continue, they said. "We're convinced that a hybrid car is the most promising high-tech car at the present time," Toyota Executive Vice President Akihiro Wada said in a press statement released Monday night.

The global race for environmentally friendly vehicles is intensifying, as a number of major automakers have begun to develop fuel-cell and hybrid vehicles.

German-American automaker DaimlerChrysler AG unveiled the world's first mass-production fuel-cell vehicle last month, announcing that they will begin marketing the car in 2004.

Meanwhile, R&D costs for environmentally friendly vehicles are expected to grow dramatically, which has prompted tieups and alliances across national borders. "It is generally agreed that the cost of environmental and safety technology will be vast," said Yoshikazu Hanawa, president of Nissan Motor Co., earlier in the day. "It would be economically inefficient for each auto company to proceed (with development) by itself."

Hanawa predicted that to survive, some automakers will have to form a group and share high-tech costs.