Toyota plans to share green technology in China

Toyota Motor plans to invest US$689 million in a new R&D center for its tightly guarded energy-saving vehicle technology in eastern city of Changshu, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Toyota plans to resume production and sales of its Prius in China, where it shut down the company’s gasoline-electric hybrid business in 2009 due to slack demand and Beijing’s upcoming low emission vehicle rules requiring global automakers to produce certain key components in the country. Toyota’s latest version of Prius has never been sold in China, although it was launched in 2009 and sold in many other countries, partly owing to concerns of IP theft through a mandatory joint venture with Chinese partners. Akio Toyoda, global president of Toyota, said the company plans to begin producing key hybrid-car components in China in early 2015. Toyota will conduct technically more advanced work in China, but the core technologies will still be done elsewhere.