According to incomplete statistics, Toyota has tens of thousands of patents in the field of hybrid technology. However, Toyota, which has always been tight-lipped about its hybrid technology patents, has recently "opened the door to convenience" and provided a complete set of hybrid systems to Guangzhou Automobile Group. According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Toyota will provide the core system of hybrid vehicles to Guangzhou Automobile Group. This time, it is not authorized by some technologies and patents, but a complete hybrid system, which means that the hybrid vehicles produced by Guangzhou Automobile Group will directly adopt Toyota's hybrid technology in the future.
Insiders of Guangzhou Automobile Group said that this news has not been officially announced, but it is certain that the hybrid products of Guangzhou Automobile Group using Toyota THS system will be listed in 20021year at the latest. In terms of hybrid power, Guangzhou Automobile Group will develop two routes in parallel, one of which is jointly developed with Toyota.
Why did Toyota suddenly "open its brain"?
In fact, this is not the first time Toyota has opened its own hybrid technology patent. In April last year, Toyota announced that it would provide 23,740 hybrid technology patents for free by 2030. Is this Toyota's kindness? Obviously not, the reason why Toyota began to loosen hybrid patents is mainly because patents have entered a period of high incidence.
It is true that Toyota has many patents on core technologies in the hybrid field, but these patents are time-limited. In 20 13, several basic patents of Toyota hybrid power expired, mainly involving control system and drive mode. The core patent planetary gear structure also failed in the United States and Europe in February 20 17. With the passage of time, Toyota's hybrid technology began to enter a "high-failure period".
Patent invalidation means that other car companies can easily enter the hybrid field. For Toyota, instead of letting its THS hybrid system be imitated by others, it is better to open itself before the patent expires, adding some luster to its image as an industry leader.
Is it really poverty alleviation through science and technology to provide technology to GAC?
In fact, this is not the first cooperation between Toyota and GAC. Prior to this, GAC Toyota introduced the iA5 model. Although this car has not achieved eye-catching market performance, it also marks the deep cooperation between GAC and Toyota in this field.
And why on earth did Toyota open its door to GAC? On the one hand, Toyota has an ambiguous relationship with GAC itself, and there are precedents for cooperation in the field of hybrid. On the other hand, it is also a last resort for Toyota. After all, the future automobile market will be dominated by new energy vehicles. Many European countries have clearly put forward the time to ban the sale of fuel-efficient vehicles, and some countries will ban the sale of fuel-efficient vehicles as soon as 2025. Toyota's hybrid cars are not new energy vehicles, which means that Toyota's hybrid technology is about to be eliminated in these countries.
In China, it is not clear when the sale of fuel-efficient vehicles will be banned. In addition, China's market is too big, and it is still dominated by fuel, hybrid and new energy in a short time. Hybrid cars will not go out of fashion. Toyota has expanded its share in the hybrid market by cooperating with GAC. On the other hand, GAC can also reduce its R&D cost through Toyota's mature technology in the hybrid field, which is actually a win-win situation. There is no Toyota's so-called "poverty alleviation through science and technology".
Is national policy the master?
As the largest automobile market in the world, China's policies in the automobile field will also affect the development policies of many automobile enterprises. In June this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has reviewed and approved the new version of the Measures for the Parallel Management of Average Fuel Consumption of Passenger Car Enterprises and New Energy Vehicle Points. The new case puts forward the concept of "low fuel consumption passenger car" for the first time, that is, from 202 1 and 1, hybrid vehicles will be classified as "low fuel consumption vehicles" and the government will give them preferential policies.
At present, new energy vehicles have not completely replaced fuel vehicles, and the new policy lists hybrid vehicles as "low fuel consumption vehicles" and gives preferential treatment, which is undoubtedly the main reason why Toyota opens hybrid technology to GAC. After all, the number of hybrid cars in the domestic automobile market is increasing day by day, and the prospect of hybrid car market in the next decade is also very impressive. According to LMC? According to the data provided by Automotive, the proportion of hybrid vehicles in global automobile sales will increase from 7% in 2020 to 26% in 2030.
Write at the end:
To sum up, there are two main reasons why Toyota provides GAC with a complete set of hybrid systems. One is that its own patent is about to expire, and the other is the support of national policies. Toyota wants to use Guangzhou Automobile Group to further increase its share in the hybrid market in China, so as to earn more profits. Of course, sharing hybrid technology between Toyota and GAC is also a good thing for GAC and a win-win situation.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.