A final agreement between the two parties is very close and would allow BMW to use Toyota's drivetrain and hydrogen storage tech. The German company will develop a prototype within the next three years and is expected to launch a production model by 2020.
Recently, BMW and Toyota have been expanding their R&D connections as back in December 2011 they agreed to work together on green car tech, including co-developing lithium-ion batteries. As part of this collaboration, BMW would provide Toyota with diesel engines for the cars sold in Europe. In June 2012, Toyota and BMW agreed to cooperate in the development of fuel cells for a future sports car.
Toyota and BMW have officially confirmed they plan on co-developing a new sports car.
Aside from working on this interesting project, both parties have agreed to jointly develop a fuel cell system for cars by 2020. The agreement was made official today, following last year's tie-up announcement. They will also work together in developing lightweight technologies and conduct research into next-gen lithium-based batteries.
Toyota and BMW will develop a feasibility study to create the support for a mid-sized sports car, aiming to finish the study by late 2013. They will also focus on reinforced composites and carbon fiber materials which will be used not only for the sports car but also for their own models.
The co-developed hydrogen fuel cell tech will have an emphasis on hydrogen tanks, fuel cell stacks, motors and batteries. In addition, both of them will study what has to be done to prepare the infrastructure for rolling out hydrogen-fueled cars. Also part of the plan is to research lithium-air batteries.
Source: Toyota & BMW via autonews.com
Nikkei adds various automakers such as GM, Daimler, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai are all working on fuel-cell cars.
Note: Toyota FCV-R concept pictured
Source: Nikkei via autonews.com
