Toyota In Talks With Geely Over Cooperation In Hybrid Technologies

Toyota has announced that they’re in talks with Geely about a cooperation in petrol-electric technologies, but nothing has been decided yet.

The Japanese car maker confirmed the negotiations to Reuters, saying that the two are currently “communicating with each other” about hybrid technology but didn’t provide any further details.

“Toyota has been conducting the business with the open policy which also applies to the area of electrification technologies. The relationship with Geely (Toyota is exploring) is also based on this open policy,” Toyota said to the publication. Geely declined to comment.

The reports cites a person familiar with the discussions, who said that the two car makers talk about a Chinese supplier of batteries that works with both of them but separately.

Toyota has been in the electrification game for quite some time now, so teaming up with Geely might not make sense at first. Its plan to ramp up its sales in China, the world’s biggest car market, however, could be the reason behind this possible tie-up.

The confirmation on Toyota’s part comes after a report from Chinese media that said Geely was working with the Japanese on hybrid technologies. The report also added that the two car makers will announce details on their joint effort pretty soon.