European moves to mark the end of the road for diesel and gas-powered cars are putting pressure on carmakers to not get left behind in the shift towards electric vehicles, analysts said.
In a further sign of those pressures, Toyota Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp on Friday announced they would join forces to develop electric vehicle technologies and build a $1.6 billion assembly plant in the U.S.
The U.S. plant will have a capacity to produce 300,000 cars a year and provide jobs for about 4,000 people, according to Reuters. It will begin operations in 2021.
But analysts told Reuters the alliance would also help Mazda keep up in the race to develop electric vehicles. “Mazda needs electrification technology. In the past they’ve pooh-poohed EVs, they’ve felt that they can make internal combustion engines more efficient, but the bottom line is that globally you need to have this technology,” said Janet Lewis, head of Asia transportation research at Macquarie Securities.
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