Toyota to develop alternative fuels with other Japanese automakers

Toyota Motor said on Saturday it will partner with four Japanese automakers to find out the viability of alternative green fuels for internal combustion engine cars.

The automakers, along with Toyota, include Mazda Motor, Subaru Corp, Yamaha Motor, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries who made the announcement at a race track in Okayama, Japan, where Toyota is racing a hydrogen car.

The hydrogen race car is being driven by Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda together with other Toyota drivers.

It is hard to convert internal combustion engines to green fuels. This would enable the companies to support decades-old existing supply chains hiring hundreds of thousands of workers that they may otherwise have to drop as they move towards building electric vehicles.

As nations tighten environmental regulations to reduce carbon emissions, automakers including Toyota, are increasing the production of electric vehicles.

Japan has said it intends to be carbon neutral by 2050 and is encouraging the use of hydrogen fuel.