Toyota, which dominates the hybrid car market, finally feels the feeling of being on edge.

On October 14th, Toyota announced that its cumulative global sales of hybrid vehicles exceeded 7 million units. Since the first Prius was launched in August 1997, Toyota has sold a total of 7.053 million hybrid vehicles in 17 years.

In the past 17 years, while Toyota has enjoyed the rich dividends brought by hybrid cars, it has also set up numerous technological barriers to prevent other car manufacturers from entering. However, this technological monopoly is about to be broken, as Toyota registered a series of hybrid invention patents in the mid to late 1990s, some of which have already exceeded the 20-year patent period, while others are about to expire.

A senior executive of Toyota in China, who did not want to be named, said to the reporter: "Because the invention patent has a 20-year time limit, the main patent of the planetary gear mechanism registered by Toyota in 1997 will expire in 2017. It can be said that the most essence of Toyota hybrid technology is the planetary gear mechanism. Once the patent expires, others can easily enter this field."

Whether to give up dividends and passively respond, upgrade technology and start countermeasures, or open up to cooperation, there are multiple choices facing Toyota. Can the isolated hybrid power in China be revitalized by the breaking of Toyota's monopoly? Will Chinese car companies such as BYD and SAIC, which have taken a unique approach to bypass Toyota's core patents, choose to restart their technology due to patent openness?

Planetary gears take the lead, Toyota enters a high incidence period of patent invalidation

In addition to the highly concerned "planetary gear patent" in the industry, Toyota had several hybrid basic patents expire in 2013, involving control systems and drive methods, and the next few years will be a "high-risk period" for patent expiration. The reporter called Toyota China regarding this matter and the official response was: "We cannot answer which patent has expired or is about to expire. We will maintain an open attitude towards Toyota's patented technology and welcome other manufacturers to cooperate with us, but we will definitely not provide technology for free

The reporter's investigation revealed that Toyota does have a "planetary gear core patent" that will expire in 2017. The patent name is "Hybrid drive system when planetary gear mechanism is disposed radially inward of stator coil of motor/generator". This patent explains how to distribute power between an internal combustion engine and an electric motor through a planetary gear mechanism, and belongs to the basic patent of Toyota THS hybrid system. Its US patent number is US6155364, filed on February 18, 1997; The European patent number is EP0791495, filed on February 20, 1997. After February 20, 2017, this patent will expire in both the United States and Europe.

The reporter searched the website of the China National Intellectual Property Administration for patents related to Toyota planetary gear through search, and found 13 patents, with application time ranging from 2003 to 2012. The "planetary gear set" patent, which was first applied for on January 15, 2003, will also expire in 2023. This also means that even if Chinese car companies apply planetary gear mechanisms to hybrid vehicles after Toyota's international patent expires, they cannot sell them in China.

Toyota China officials told reporters that what appears to be a single hybrid technology is actually comprehensive. Toyota has applied for a "patent group" in China, with each technology patent even having multiple auxiliary patents. For a manufacturer, not all technologies need to be patented. For example, if someone wants to buy my product and opens it but cannot imitate it, there is no need to apply for a patent. The advantage of a patent is that I develop it first, I apply first, and then you develop similar technologies, and you have to pay me some fees.

On the website of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, 335 Toyota invention patents can be found with the keyword "hybrid". Toyota sets up technical barriers through layers of patents, and other car companies must pay technology licensing fees to Toyota once they adopt similar inventions.

Previously, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei stated, "Japanese companies have applied to the International Organization for Standardization to turn Japan's hybrid power standards into international standards, which has also affected us. Traditional hybrid power, represented by Toyota, has already designed several technical traps. We must not touch it

Miao Wei's words indirectly express the government's attitude towards hybrid technology. It is precisely because Japanese car companies, represented by Toyota, excessively protect their own technology and attempt to turn it into an international standard that Chinese car companies face numerous difficulties in developing hybrid vehicles. A slight mistake could touch Toyota's patents and result in significant losses.

Toyota's attitude has turned around as it is difficult to buy at a low price for a thousand dollars

At present, there are two leading car companies in terms of global R&D expenses, one is Toyota and the other is Volkswagen. Toyota has the highest investment, with an annual investment of around billions of dollars. "The Toyota executive in China stated that Toyota is very confident in hybrid technology, and there have been Japanese executives who politely declined to seek cooperation with car companies, saying that" the price of technology is too high, you can't afford it.

He told reporters that Volkswagen once wanted to purchase Toyota's hybrid technology and equip it on Volkswagen's models, offering to pay a technology licensing fee of 2 billion yen. A senior Toyota executive responded to the price by saying, "You don't fully understand the value of this technology

A person close to Toyota told reporters, "Toyota's blockade of technology is a small measure that actually hinders the comprehensive promotion of hybrid vehicles. Previously, Toyota closed the door tightly and no one could enter. Now, when they have to open the door, they start selling it at a low price. Isn't this giving hybrid power to BMW and Mazda? After cooperating with BMW, they acquired BMW's chassis technology and turbocharging technology because they know that the value of these technologies in their hands will decrease after the patent expires

Although Toyota has voluntarily lowered its profile and actively sought cooperation with other multinational car companies, it has not yet collaborated with any Chinese car companies to develop hybrid technology. Previously, Dong Changzheng, Executive Vice President of Toyota China, stated that providing hybrid technology to Chinese companies is not a simple transaction, but requires a foundation of cooperation. I once encountered an awkward situation where we were recommending technology internally, and my colleague asked which Chinese manufacturer wanted it, but received no response. If our manufacturer really focused on research and development, it would not be a simple buying and selling relationship, but rather we would work together to develop it. This kind of demand is not so strong for domestic independent brands

But some Chinese car companies have also stated that they are unwilling to cooperate with Toyota because the prices are too high. For a long time, Chinese car companies have been carefully avoiding Toyota's technology patents and developing related technologies on their own. Although most hybrid products remain in the light and medium hybrid stage, they have also achieved certain results.

It is reported that Toyota's THS hybrid system is equipped with two electric motors, one engine, and one planetary gear mechanism. The brilliance of this technology lies in the effective combination of parallel and series modes through a planetary gear mechanism. In terms of electric and gasoline fuel drive ratio control, it is completely calculated and distributed by the energy control unit to achieve the optimal hybrid power ratio.

The BYD F3DM, which also uses a hybrid system, has poor performance in order to bypass Toyota's patent barriers on the planetary gear mechanism. Later, Qin, who adopted a parallel system, made significant breakthroughs in structural design. It has to be said that Toyota's strict patent control has actually promoted the independent research and development capabilities of a group of domestic car companies.

Toyota, which has lowered itself in Europe, has not shown more sincerity in the Chinese market. Holding the banner of 'welcome cooperation', but lacking the sincerity to cooperate. This may be because most of its patents in China are still within their "shelf life".

Toyota's Realistic Decision: Continue Technology Blockade or Open Embrace

Does the gradual expiration of Toyota's hybrid related patents benefit Chinese car companies? Automotive industry analyst Zhong Shi said, "Toyota Hybrid has a very large patent portfolio, and the failure of one or two patents has little impact on it because it has already formed a technical system

Zhong Shi believes that even if most of Toyota's hybrid power patents have expired, it does not necessarily mean that Chinese car companies can use them. Toyota's hybrid powertrain has its own set of solutions, with complex structures and relatively high costs. When you use it, the first is to learn it thoroughly, and the second is to learn something that has expired. What is the value of learning it again? Can it be more advanced or at a lower cost

For domestic brands, it is better to look ahead and create their own core technology by focusing on Toyota's planetary gear mechanism and related hybrid technology. However, for Toyota, its long-standing technology blockade strategy has also resulted in significant losses in China. Toyota is well aware of this.

Toyota closes the door to technology, while China closes the door to the market, "said the Toyota executive in China helplessly

In his opinion, Toyota's upcoming fuel cell vehicles heavily rely on infrastructure. In the future, when fuel cell vehicles enter China, Toyota dare not set any technical barriers and will definitely open up the technology and let everyone build together. Everyone has a cake to eat.

Toyota China officials told reporters that the fuel cell vehicle that Toyota is about to put into use, with an expected price of 7 million yen, should be officially launched in Japan in mid November, while the launch time in the United States and Europe is in 2015. As for the timing of entering China, Toyota is still discussing it.

Electric vehicles are short distance mobility tools, while fuel cell vehicles are point-to-point long-distance mobility tools. In cities, hybrid vehicles are currently the most suitable. He said that hybrid vehicles are still Toyota's core environmental technology in the 21st century. Its design structure, electronic inverters, electronic control technology, etc. can all be used in fuel cell vehicles and electric vehicles, which is a technology with many possibilities and scalability.

The localization of Toyota's hybrid powertrain components is seen as the first step for Toyota to open up its technology to China. Last November, Toyota Motor R&D Center (China) Co., Ltd. completed construction in Changshu, Jiangsu. In 2015, models equipped with domestically produced hybrid powertrains will be produced by FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota. In July of this year, Toyota's nickel hydrogen battery joint venture, Konami, officially received approval from the Ministry of Commerce in China, and domestic production of batteries is about to be put on the agenda. And recently, Toyota Motor (Changshu) Parts Co., Ltd., which opened, will use domestically produced hybrid vehicles with variable speed drive axles.

It is not difficult to see that as the technological foundation of fuel cell vehicles and electric vehicles, hybrid power is still Toyota's trump card in China. Once this technology is recognized by China, Toyota's other new energy products will be easier to promote. However, compared to German car companies that are led by government leaders to promote unified charging standards for electric vehicles and achieve technological cooperation in China, Toyota has not done enough. The obstacle to Toyota's development in China is not China's new energy policy, but its speculative attitude of "differentiation between China and foreign countries". Source: Wang Chao, reporter of China Youth Daily