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Journalism of Courage
The heads of automobile giants Toyota and General Motors (GM) have met in a courtesy call that reaffirmed a longtime partnership but stopped short of producing any new deals on technology, a Toyota spokesman said on Monday.
Visiting General Motors Corp Chief Executive Richard Wagoner met with Toyota Motor Corp President Fujio Cho and president-elect Katsuaki Watanabe on Saturday over dinner in Toyota city, after Wagoner visited the nearby 2005 World Expo in Aichi.
Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco said Wagoner also met with Toyota Honorary Chairman Shoichiro Toyoda. But Nolasco denied Japanese media reports that Cho and Wagoner discussed sharing hybrid technology or setting up a joint venture on fuel cells.
Hybrids produce better mileage than comparable gasoline-engine cars by switching between an electric motor and gas engine. Fuel cell vehicles produce no pollution by running on the power produced when hydrogen stored as fuel combines with oxygen in the air to produce water.
Japanese business daily 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.”
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 exchange research under a 1999 pact to jointly develop environmental technology.
The meeting between Cho and Wagoner comes at a time when Toyota’s rosy fortunes contrast with GM’s losses. After leaving Japan, Wagoner traveled to China, where he is scheduled to speak at a business forum this week.
