Toyota Motor Corp. and Panasonic Corp. announced Wednesday that they will strengthen their alliance for developing batteries used in environmentally friendly cars, targeting the market for all-electric vehicles.
"Everyone agrees that batteries will be a significant core component of electrified vehicles," Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at the news conference in Tokyo's Minato Ward. "Our cooperation represents the intention of two Japan-born companies to lead the next era of electrified cars."
Toyoda said the leading Japanese automaker will aim to sell a total of 5.5 million next-generation green vehicles — including 4.5 million hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrids and 1 million cars with electric vehicle and fuel cell technologies — by 2030, to reach 50 percent of all sales in that year. The company expects to sell 1.47 million HVs and PHVs during this calendar year.
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