The partnership between Toyota and Mazda appears to be growing as Nikkei is reporting the two companies are close to closing a deal which could pave the way for the joint-development of electric vehicle technology and a new plant in the United States.
According to the Japanese newspaper, Toyota will purchase a five percent stake in Mazda. Mazda will reportedly make a similar investment in Toyota but there’s no word on specifics.
Besides investing in one another, the companies are reportedly discussing the possibility of building a new plant in the southern United States. Sources suggest the plant would primarily build crossovers and have an annual output of around 300,000 units.
A deal could be announced as early as Friday and Toyota told Reuters “We intend to submit a proposal to our board of directors today regarding the partnership with Mazda, however, we would like to refrain from providing further comment at this time.” Mazda issued a similar statement saying “nothing has been decided yet” but the company “will have a board meeting on this matter today.”
The partnership between Mazda and Toyota isn’t as widely known as the company’s previous tie-up with Ford but the automaker currently builds the Yaris iA which is a rebadged version of the Mazda2.
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