Toyota enters into tieup talks with Mazda to supply core hybrid car parts

NAGOYA (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. has begun tieup talks with Mazda Motor Corp. as it considers providing the smaller rival with core parts of a gasoline-electric hybrid car with an eye to making its pioneering green technology a global standard, sources said Thursday.

Toyota is expected to supply batteries and motors for a hybrid car Mazda plans to release between 2010 and 2015.

The deal between Toyota and Mazda is likely to open the door to similar tieups between automakers amid a growing market for energy-saving cars, particularly in Japan due partially to recent government tax breaks and subsidies for hybrids and other eco-friendly vehicles.

Talks between the two automakers for a tieup began after Mazda asked for the hybrid parts from the world's largest automaker, the sources said.

Mazda, which had planned to enter the hybrid market after 2015, will be able to roll out the model earlier if it can ink the deal with Toyota. By selling to the Hiroshima-based smaller rival, Toyota will also be able to push down costs for the key hybrid components through mass production.

Toyota has previously provided its hybrid technology and parts to Nissan Motor Co. and U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co.

On the back of booming demand for fuel-efficient cars, particularly for hybrids like Toyota's best-selling new Prius, Toyota has been approached by automakers other than Mazda for similar deals to supply hybrid parts, a senior Toyota official said.

"We would like to widen our scope and respond (to the requests) as much as possible," the official said.

Mazda, which has a business and capital alliance with Ford, has been working with the U.S. carmaker on hybrid technology.