Automotive

Nissan Motor's electric-car battery business began its new life Monday under the majority ownership of the Envision group, a Chinese renewable energy concern.

NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it will allow royalty-free access to its nearly 24,000 patents for hybrid and other vehicles using electrification technology in a bid to expand competition in the market as the industry adopts stricter emissions regulations.

The nation’s automotive industry is in fierce competition over acquiring information technology professionals.

With the Olympics — and an anticipated influx of even more foreign tourists — a little more than a year away, local companies are finding more ways to get in on the act of showcasing Japanese know-how and enhancing the overall experience of visitors.

Yamato Holdings, a Japanese parcel delivery company, and DHL, the Deutsche Post group's international logistics company, are jointly developing a small electric truck for door-to-door deliveries.

Japanese automakers Honda Motor and Hino Motors have signed on to a joint venture between SoftBank Corp. and Toyota Motor, the companies announced in a statement on Thursday.

Tokyo-based venture company A.L.I. Technologies Inc. aims to release a mass-market flying motorcycle by 2022, Chief Executive Officer Shuhei Komatsu said.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor Corp. on Wednesday said they planned to produce electric vehicles (EVs) and compact cars for each other to better compete with fast-changing technologies in the global auto industry.

In snow country along the northwest coast of Honshu, a small manufacturer of precision molds is feeling the pain of China’s economic slowdown.

Toyota on Wednesday said it will build a new hybrid car in the U.K. for Japanese peer Suzuki — a welcome boost for the country’s auto sector which has been hit by Brexit uncertainty.