Toyota President Says Fuel-Cell Deal with GM in Final Stages

Washington DC July 11, 2005; The AIADA newsletter reported that Toyota’s new president Katsuaki Watanabe warned members of the press Monday that it’s just a matter of time before Toyota and GM settle on a deal over a hydrogen fuel cell development venture, reports The Associated Press. "We are in the final stages of the talks," Watanabe said at the company’s Tokyo office. "It’s better not to let the talks drag on." Since 1999, the two automakers have operated a California plant together, agreeing to share technology. A fuel cell deal would extend this relationship and in an important way considering the President has named hydrogen the fuel of the future. "They are good competition," Katsuaki Watanabe said of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. in a group interview with foreign media. "We don’t want to lose." Toyota aims to capture 15 percent of the world’s automobile market over the next several years. An integral component of this expansion, says Watanabe, is increasing Toyota’s hybrid production.