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Toyota delays Mexico plant as it plans U.S. plant with Mazda

TOKYO — Toyota will push back the start of operations at its scheduled new plant in Mexico, to the first half of 2020 from the initial plan of 2019, the company said on Thursday. Japan's top automaker had initially planned to start building the Corolla sedan at the $1 billion Guanajuato plant but said last week it would switch production to a new U.S. factory to be built with Mazda. Toyota said the delay was necessary to adjust its supply chain in Mexico to produce the Tacoma pickup instead of the Corolla compact car. That factory could also build sport utility vehicles, a Toyota spokesman in Mexico said last week. "With the production model change to the Tacoma pickup, the start of production will consequently be in the first half of 2020," a Toyota spokeswoman said. "However, we will make our utmost effort to advance the timing in order to minimize the impact to suppliers and the local community." Until the scheduled start of the joint venture plant with Mazda in 2021, Toyota will supply the Corollas that were initially slated to be built in Mexico from its factories in Mississippi and Japan, the company said.Related: Mazda-Toyota partnership has us dreaming of a rotary hybrid Reporting by Makiko YamazakiRelated Video:

Toyota follows Tesla, makes hydrogen patents open source

Back in June, Tesla said All Our Patents Are Belong to You as it released its electric vehicle patents to the world. CEO Elon Musk said at the time that patents, "serve merely to stifle progress, entrench the positions of giant corporations and enrich those in the legal profession." Despite some disagreement on which gasoline alternative (electricity or hydrogen) will power the automotive future, it looks like the folks over at Toyota like the idea of making advanced technology easier for others to get their hands on. Last summer, Tesla said that it would, "not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology." In an announcement today at CES, Toyota said it would let "automakers who will produce and sell fuel cell vehicles, as well as ... fuel cell parts suppliers and energy companies who establish and operate fueling stations" get free access to 5,680 fuel cell related patents around the world. That means if you're interested in building your own Mirai H2 car, you can now get some of the instructions. There's a catch, though, in that Toyota's H2 vehicle patents will only be free, "through the initial market introduction period, anticipated to last until 2020." Patents about making and selling hydrogen will be free "for an unlimited duration." Toyota's Senior VP of Automotive Operations, Bob Carter, said that, "At Toyota, we believe that when good ideas are shared, great things can happen. ... By eliminating traditional corporate boundaries, we can speed the development of new technologies and move into the future of mobility more quickly, effectively and economically." Toyota generates a lot of patents each year – 1,491 in 2012 in the US alone, for example – but it did not see fit to make them all open to competitors. While we don't know for sure how many automakers have decided to use Tesla's patents since they were made public, but it appears that interest in the technology is muted. We'll have to wait and see how the industry reacts to the influx of H2 information. We hope this will be one of the topics Musk addresses in his Reddit AMA later today. Toyota Opens the Door and Invites the Industry to the Hydrogen Future More than 5,600 fuel cell and related patents available for royalty free use Patents include industry leading fuel cell technology used in new Toyota Mirai January 05, 2015 2015 CES - TMS SVP Bob Carter's speech LAS VEGAS, (Jan.

Suzuki and Daihatsu join Toyota electric vehicle venture

TOKYO — Suzuki Motor Corp and Daihatsu are joining a commercial electric vehicle coalition led by Toyota Motor Corp, the carmakers announced on Wednesday, helping the Japanese alliance expand its focus from trucks to smaller cars. The two automakers will each acquire a 10% stake in the joint venture, on par with Isuzu Motors and Hino Motors, while Toyota will hold a 60% stake, they said. "With Suzuki and Daihatsu joining the project and working together, we'll be able to expand our circle of cooperation to not only cover commercial vehicles but also mini vehicles," said Toyota President Akio Toyoda. "With this expansion, I believe that we'll be able to take one step closer to a better mobility society," Toyoda said. The move comes as Japanese automakers face growing competition from tech giants and other rivals making electric and driverless cars. Toyota, Isuzu and Hino launched the Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation in April to bolster their competitive edge in connected, commercial vehicles. Daihatsu's president Soichiro Okudaira said joining the pact and introducing connected, mini-commercial vehicles would allow data sharing, a major benefit for companies to provide better services to customers and improve logistics efficiency. (Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu; Writing by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Louise Heavens) Related Video: Green Suzuki Toyota Daihatsu Electric Akio Toyoda