BYD and Hino to partner for developing electric commercial vehicles

Electric automaker BYD stated on Thursday it has partnered with Toyota-owned truck maker Hino Motors for developing electric commercial vehicles, as BYD deepens electric collaboration with Toyota.

The partnership will look forward to collaboration into electric buses and trucks, in addition to BYD and Toyota’s joint development on electric passenger cars.

Shenzhen-based BYD, backed by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett, has been building electric commercial automobiles including London’s electric double-decker buses and electric road sweepers in Beijing.

Hino has been developing battery electric trucks but until now they are yet to bring a fully electric model to market.

In China, Hino builds trucks with Guangzhou-based GAC Motors, which is also a partner of Toyota.

Toyota, which expects to achieve 50 percent of its vehicle sales from electrified models by 2025, has been developing its own electric vehicle batteries and has been tapping new providers to avoid a shortfall in supply as demand for electrified automobiles is expected to boost in the coming decades.