09:00 AM US Eastern Timezone
Source:AFP
Toyota President Fujio Cho and visiting GM Chief Executive Richard Wagoner agreed in a meeting Saturday to step up cooperation in areas such as fuel cell-powered vehicles, the national newspaper Yomiuri said.
Leading business newspaper Nihon Keizai quoted Cho as saying that the two sides did not make any concrete agreements, but "we plan to strengthen our partnership with GM" in fuel cell technology.
A partnership would allow the world's two biggest automakers to share the cost of developing fuel cell-powered cars - pollution-free vehicles that are powered by hydrogen.
Many in the industry believe fuel cells will eventually replace gasoline as the primary power source for cars.
General Motors Corp.Chief Executive Rick
Wagoner, center, arrives at American Pavilion while his side tour at
Aichi Expo 2005 site in Nagakute, central Japan, Saturday, May 14, 2005.
Wagoner who arrived here Friday may meet Toyota Motor Corp. officials
during his stay in Japan, local media said. Man at right is
unidentified. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
Wagoner, who arrived in Japan on Friday, also met with Toyota Honorary Chairman Shoich iro Toyoda on Saturday to discuss a fuel cell technology tie-up, Kyodo News said.
Calls to Toyota and GM on Sunday were not answered.
Saddled with huge health care and pension liabilities, GM lost US$1.1 billion in the first quarter. Its bonds were recently downgraded to junk status and its stock hit a 10-year low in April.
Toyota reported US$2.8 billion in profit in the same quarter and commands an edge in the market for environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles, which run on a combination of electricity and gasoline.
Toyota and GM already have a partnership but it does not involve investment stakes in each other. They run an auto plant in California together and have exchanged research, including a 1999 pact to jointly develop environmental technology.