TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp. has established a new venture to develop electric vehicle technology with partner Mazda Motor Corp, seeking to catch up with rivals in an increasingly frenetic race to produce more battery-powered cars.
Policymakers in key markets like China are pushing a shift to electric cars over the next two to three decades, while relatively new rival Tesla Inc. is gaining momentum, pressuring traditional automakers to crank up plans for fully electric vehicles (EVs).
At the same time, declining battery costs are enabling more power to be packed into cars, making an electric car future easier to imagine.
Toyota said in a statement the new company will develop technology for a range of electric cars, including minivehicles, passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks.
Toyota will take a 90 percent stake in the joint venture, called EV Common Architecture Spirit Co. Ltd, while Mazda and Denso Corp, Toyota’s biggest supplier, will each take 5 percent.
The plans build on a partnership announced in August when Japan’s biggest automaker agreed to take a 5 percent stake in Mazda and two said they would jointly develop affordable electric vehicle technologies.
Although Toyota is providing most of the financial firepower and existing EV know-how, Mazda’s engineers have gained the admiration of the industry with break-through technologies such as its compression ignition engine announced last month.
Shares in Mazda surged to end the day 3 percent higher, while those in Denso rose 1.8 percent. Toyota shares were flat.
Both automakers are somewhat behind rivals, with neither having a fully electric passenger car on the market yet.
After years of focusing on bringing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to the market, Toyota last year set up a division to develop electric cars which is led by President Akio Toyoda, and said it plans to introduce EVs in China in the coming years.
That division would continue as a separate entity from the new joint venture, a Toyota spokeswoman said, while adding that the two teams would co-operate on technology development.
Mazda has an R&D budget a fraction of Toyota’s, which has made it difficult to develop electric cars on its own. Even so, it has said it plans to launch EVs in 2020.
By comparison, Nissan Motor Co. has the world’s top selling electric car, the Leaf, and it and partner Renault SA expect electric models to account for 30 percent of their vehicle sales by 2022.
Competition from unexpected quarters is also heating up. Just this week, James Dyson, the billionaire British inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, said his company was working on developing an electric car to be launched by 2020.
Toyota to form electric car technology venture with Mazda
Toyota to form electric car technology venture with Mazda
Egypt’s non-oil exports rise 17% as trade deficit narrows
RIYADH: Egyptian non-oil exports increased by over 17 percent year on year in 2025, reaching approximately $48.6 billion, new figures showed.
Latest foreign trade indicators released by the country’s Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade revealed the trade deficit narrowed by 9 percent over the 12 months, reaching around $34.4 billion, according to a statement.
This supports Egypt’s ambition to enter the global top 50 in trade performance, boost exports to $145 billion a year, and narrow the trade deficit.
It also aligns with the country’s efforts to streamline procedures, maximize the benefits of trade agreements, and protect local industry in line with international agreements.
The newly released data said: “Egyptian gold exports also saw a substantial increase, reaching $7.6 billion in 2025 compared to $3.2 billion in 2024, an increase of $4.4 billion.”
It further indicated that the largest markets for Egyptian non-oil exports in 2025 included the UAE, Turkiye, and Saudi Arabia, as well as Italy and the US.
The most important export sectors included building materials at $14.9 billion, chemicals and fertilizers at $9.4 billion, and food industries at $6.8 billion.
In October, Egypt’s credit rating was raised by S&P Global to “B” from “B-,” while Fitch reaffirmed its “B” rating, citing reform progress and macroeconomic stability.
S&P said at the time that the upgrade reflects reforms implemented over the past period by the country, including the liberalization of the foreign exchange regime, which boosted competitiveness and fueled a rebound in growth.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly also said at that time that both rating agencies’ decisions signal confidence in the government’s reform agenda and its expected returns.
In September, Egypt’s Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation reported that the economy expanded 4.4 percent in fiscal year 2024/25, driven by a strong fourth quarter when gross domestic product growth hit a three-year high of 5 percent.
This reflects the impact of the more flexible exchange rate regime adopted since March 2024, which has helped stabilize the balance of payments and restore investor confidence.
