Toyota and BYD officially announced registration of a new joint venture - BYD TOYOTA EV TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (BTET), for research and development of battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

Head office: Pingshan District, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China Business activities: Design, development, etc. of battery electric vehicles and their platforms and related parts

The preparations to establish the 50%/50% joint venture have proceeded since November 2019, when the two announced the intention. In summer 2019, Toyota and BYD first hinted at joint all-electric car and battery developments, which means that the JV might be just a first step before deeper commercial partnership.

Operations of BTET are scheduled to commence in May 2020.

"BYD and Toyota will work together to meet the diverse needs of customers by researching and developing BEVs that appeal to customers and promoting their widespread adoption and also hope to contribute to improving the environment in China."

We guess that BYD is already well advanced with preparations to serve Toyota with its newly launched FinDreams sub-brand for automotive parts/systems. The Japanese manufacturer might also be interested in potentially more affordable BYD Blade Batteries.