Shanghai (ZXZC)- FAW-Toyota celebrated on June 29 the first spade cut for its new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturing base in Binhai New Area, Tianjin, marking the beginning of the Sino-Japanese joint venture's transition to NEVs.

Launching the new project is part of efforts to deepen the cooperation between FAW Group and Toyota, said Xu Liuping, chairman of FAW Group. Up until now, FAW-Toyota has sold over 8 million vehicles with a value of industrial output totaling 1.2 trillion yuan ($169.578 billion).

(IZOA EV, photo source: FAW-Toyota)

A local media outlet reported on Feb. 27 that FAW-Toyota prepared to construct a new plant with annual capacity of 200,000 NEV in Tianjin. Involving an investment of nearly 8.495 billion yuan ($1,200,469,141), the plant is said to possess complete facilities for making complete vehicles and batteries.

According to Chinese business data search platform Tianyancha, FAW-Toyota's NEV subsidiary was registered on May 29, 2020. Its business scope extends to cover the sale of automobiles and new energy complete vehicles, the repair and maintenance of motor vehicles, the auto parts R&D, the manufacture of auto components, the wholesale and retailing of auto parts, as well as the production of road motor vehicles.

The establishment of the NEV subsidiary also represents Toyota's resolution to strengthen electrification offensive in China. In December 2017, Toyota announced its plans toward the popularization of electrified vehicles for the decade 2020-2030. By around 2030, the automaker aims to have sales of more than 5.5 million electrified vehicles, including over 1 million BEVs and FCEVs.

Toyota said it would speed up the promotion of BEVs with more than 10 BEV models to be available worldwide by the early 2020s, starting in China, and then carrying forward the gradual introduction to Japan, India, United States and Europe successively.

Toyota, which is renowned for its hybrid technology, is trying to move faster in BEV field. In China, it has forged partnership with leading NEV manufacturer BYD pursuant to both parties agreed to establish a joint company to research and develop BEVs. The 50/50 joint venture, which will work on designing and developing BEVs (including platform) and its related parts, is anticipated to be established in China this year.

Prior to the agreement on joint venture, both parties had struck a deal in last July to co-develop all-electric sedans and low-floor SUVs as well as the onboard batteries for these vehicles with the aim of launching them in the China under the Toyota brand in the first half of the 2020s.

Moreover, Toyota also entered into a partnership agreement with the Chinese battery giant CATL in last July for the stable supply and further development of NEV batteries.