Toyota & SinoHytec found fuel cell joint venture

Toyota is founding another joint venture for commercial vehicles with fuel cells in China. The new joint venture, in which Toyota and fuel cell specialist SinoHytec each hold a 50 per cent stake, will focus on the production and sale of FC systems.

The planned joint venture will be based in Beijing and named Toyota Sinohytec Fuel Cell (FCTS). According to the Japanese car manufacturer, the company will be responsible for the production and sales of the fuel cell systems for commercial vehicles that Toyota and SinoHytec are developing together with other Chinese partners in a separate joint venture.

As is known, Toyota had launched this first joint venture in China called United Fuel Cell System R&D (FCRD) in August 2020 together with FAW, Dongfeng, GAC, BAIC and SinoHytec. The Japanese company holds 65 per cent of the company, which specialises in the development of commercial vehicle fuel cell systems, SinoHytec 15 per cent and the four automobile companies five per cent each.

Thus, Toyota and SinoHytec will now take care of future production and sales with their own corporate entity, which they are providing with investment capital of eight billion yen (about 62 million euros). Toyota Sinohytec Fuel Cell is to create 70 jobs and launch its first products before the end of the year, according to a Toyota statement. The manufacturer duo does not give any details on annual capacity.

The Chinese portal Gasgoo reports that the first solutions of the China joint venture will be based on the fuel cell system used in the FC passenger car Toyota Mirai. This would also explain the short-term market launch before the end of this year. For newly developed commercial vehicle fuel cell systems, the start-up of series production is likely to take longer.

The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area in Beijing is to serve as the production site from 2023. Production there will be based on the so-called Toyota Production System (TPS). The Chinese capital will thus become a hotspot for Toyota’s fuel cell offensive in the commercial vehicle sector. Both joint ventures and partner SinoHytec are or will be based in Beijing.

autonews.gasgoo.com, yicaiglobal.com, toyota.com.cn (in Chinese, PDF)