All Entries Tagged With: "hybrid standard"

Toyota Working To Cut Costs, Establish A Hybrid Standard

Since the very first Toyota Prius went on sale in the USA back in 2001, Toyota has been working carefully to establish their hybrid synergy drive as the de facto hybrid standard. Ford and Nissan licensed certain aspects of Toyota’s hybrid systems in 2004 and 2006 respectively, and just last week it was reported that Mazda will begin licensing Toyota’s hybrid technology in the near future.

Toyota works to create a hybrid design standard and cut costs.

It’s also been rumored that Toyota has discussed hybrid technology licensing deals with Subaru and GM. Generally, these moves are viewed with skepticism. On one side, some Toyota fans object to sharing technology. On the other side, jealous auto manufacturers (and their fans) view Toyota’s offer to share as arrogant greed. However, the real reason that Toyota is looking to license their hybrid technology is to cut costs by creating a standard.