Ford, Toyota hybrid partnership dumped

Ford and Toyota will no longer jointly develop a hybrid platform together, as outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding in mid 2011.

The original plan was for the automotive giants to create a hybrid platform together that would underpin utes, pickups and SUVs, to deliver ultra-low emissions while retaining off-road capability.

Neither company has given a reason for the souring of the deal which would have significantly reduced development costs.

However both car makers have stated they will continue to develop new rugged hybrid platforms.

Ford says it will release a rear-wheel drive hybrid platform by the end of the decade, likely to underpin a new generation of efficient pick-ups and utes, potentially the next-generation Ranger.

"We know what it takes to build world-class hybrids, and we now will build and leverage that expertise in-house," said Ford's group vice president, global product development, Raj Nair.

"By continuing to develop a rear-wheel-drive hybrid system on our own, we can extend our advanced hybrid technologies to new vehicle segments and deliver even better fuel economy across our lineup," he added.

Toyota says it plans to release more than a dozen new or redesigned hybrid vehicles globally by year's end 2015.

Toyota issued a press statement that explained: "We have agreed to develop hybrid systems individually".

The Japanese car maker did, however, concede it was still working with Ford "to evaluate the feasibility of working together on next-generation standards for telematics and will consider other areas for future collaboration as well".

The company also took a thinly-veiled swipe at Ford by outlining its domination of the US hybrid market, one of the world's largest, with Lexus and Toyota hybrids accounting for 70 per cent of total hybrid sales in North America.

Image legend: 2013 Ford Explorer Sport (white), 2014 Toyota 4Runner (red).

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site.