[gjtoth]

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) plan to build a $1.6 billion U.S. assembly plant, the two said on Friday, as part of an alliance that will also see the Japanese automakers jointly develop electric vehicle technologies.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toyota-mazda-idUSKBN1AK0RF

 

[llninja]

After reading the article, it seems like a defensive move, to prevent tech companies like Apple or Google from snagging a car company in order to leapfrog into the automotive space. Yet, it's horribly expensive to do R&D from scratch. Why not license existing GM, Ford, or Tesla parts to get in on the game quickly? Toyota had a past deal with Tesla for the RAV4 EV.

I didnt' know that Toyota had a 16% stake in Subaru. I did know that Nissan and Mitsubishi have some partnership going. I think that leaves Honda all by itself. It seems that maybe someone can make a play for what's left of Fraday Future given their cash flow problems.

 

[JRRF]

This is just another part of the inflection point being reached in the EV market. Toyota is making a big play. And while US companies do their usual short-term thinking, and start pulling back production (cancelling Volt, Impala, etc.), Toyota makes the long play and will probably eat their lunch as they have in the past.

It's great that this a manufacturing investment in the US, but the flip side is that all the profits wind up in Japan.

 

[DonC]

Doesn't seem like that much to get excited about. A billion and a half dollars is a lot of dollars, but it's not a large investment for a company like Toyota. and the link between the new plant and electric cars seems tenuous. Seems mostly to be an effort to create one Japanese research and development company more than anything.

 

[JRRF]

More analysis of this and other related moves:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...a-1050a:homepage/story&utm_term=.31b7cd42e80b