Japanese electric vehicles on the move

Toyota and Subaru have agreed to jointly develop a platform dedicated to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for midsize and large passenger vehicles. The two companies have been collaborating since 2005, but this announcement signals the pressure automakers—even Toyota, the world’s largest—are feeling given the large amount of investment required to develop EVs. Toyota has a pending patent application in the Energy Financial Settlement sector directed to setting an EV rental fee system. According to the publication, the fee would depend on numerous factors, including the utilization period of the battery, the number of times of performing quick electric charging, the weight of the battery, and more. This suggests that Toyota is not only developing the technology behind electric vehicles, but also looking to implement a different type of financial model for selling its EVs.