BEIJING -- Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday announced it has signed a new strategic partnership agreement with two major Chinese automakers to streamline the operations of their joint ventures in China.
Toyota operates joint ventures with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (GAC Group) through GAC Toyota Motor Co., and with China FAW Corp. through FAW Toyota Motor Co.
GAC Group will acquire China FAW's 50% stake in FAW Toyota. Currently, Toyota and China FAW invest equally in the joint venture.
The move enables Toyota to integrate the management of its joint venture operations in China, accelerating its efforts toward electrification and intelligent vehicle development.
According to the announcement, FAW Toyota's operational independence will be maintained for the time being. The two joint ventures produce sister models, but no decision has yet been made on their consolidation, according to Toyota.
Toyota issued a statement saying that the strategic parnership will "gradually deepen and expand areas of cooperation through technological innovation." The automaker added that it will also seek "an efficient alliance of industrial resources across regions."
Toyota has been struggling in the Chinese market, where electric vehicles are highly popular. The automaker's new vehicle sales in August fell 22.8% year on year to about 118,400 units, marking the seventh consecutive monthly decline.
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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