Toyota Motor Corp. sold a part of its shares in Tesla Motors Inc., as the Japanese automotive manufacturer bets on fuel cell vehicles.
Back in 2010 the worlds biggest vehicle maker spent $50 million for a 3.2% stake in Tesla. Since then its investment has grown to $690 million, according to Bloomberg, and accounted for 2.4% of Teslas shares as of March 31 2014. The stock grew to $235 per share from $17 when it was listed in June 2010.
Kayo Doi, a Toyota spokeswoman, confirmed the sale, but declined to give details relating to number of shares, value or date of the deal.
“We have a good relationship with Tesla, and will evaluate the feasibility of working together on future projects,” Doi said today in an e-mail, cited by Bloomberg.
Tesla has been supplying batteries and motors for their jointly developed RAV4 electric sport utility vehicle that went on the market in 2012. However, the arrangement is about to end this year as Toyota is nearing its 2 500 vehicle sales target.
Meanwhile, the two companies take on different projects. Tesla is working on its plug-in Model X crossover and a cheaper Model 3 sedan, while Toyota is designing its first fuel cell vehicle using a technology that Teslas CEO has mocked and called “fool cells”.
Last month, during a visit to Tokyo, Mr. Musk indicated that there may be a “significant deal” with Toyota in the next two or three years. “We love working with Toyota,” Mr Musk said. However, Toyota declined to comment.
A similar step was taken this week by Daimler AG which sold its remaining 4% stake in Tesla. The German car maker reported that the deal was all-cash and valued at around $780 million.
“There was an expectation that it would be stimulating for a big organisation such as Toyota to engage with a small and young company such as Tesla,” an analyst at a Japanese brokerage said for the Financial Times. “In the end, the broader impact seems trivial.”
Toyota Motor Corp. gained 1.75% on Friday and closed at JPY 6 151 in Tokyo, marking a one-year decrease of 2.83%. The company is valued at JPY 20.66 trillion. According to the Financial Times, the 23 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Toyota Motor Corp. have a median target of JPY 7 600, with a high estimate of JPY 9 400 and a low estimate of JPY 6 500. The median estimate represents a 23.56% increase from the last price of JPY 6 151.
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