Toyota will grant royalty-free licenses on 23,740 patents it holds for hybrid technologies. For a fee, the company will also provide technical support to manufacturers that use Toyota’s tech, including motors, batteries, power control units and system controls.

Since 2015, Toyota has offered 5,680 patents related its fuel cell EVs. The new batch of patents will include:

• 2,590 related to electric motors
• 2,020 related to PCUs
• 7,550 related to system controls
• 1,320 for engine transaxles
• 2,200 for chargers
• 2,380 for fuel cells

The grant period begins immediately and lasts through 2030.

“Based on the high volume of inquiries we receive about our vehicle electrification systems from companies that recognize a need to popularize hybrid and other electrified vehicle technologies, we believe that now is the time for cooperation,” said Toyota Executive VP Shigeki Terashi. “If the number of electrified vehicles accelerates significantly in the next 10 years, they will become standard, and we hope to play a role in supporting that process.”

Some industry observers are unconvinced that that role is a constructive one. Electrek characterized Toyota’s move as a futile attempt to encourage other automakers to build hybrid vehicles in preference to pure EVs. As sales of the Prius are in free fall, other brands are announcing massive new investments in plug-in vehicles. Not only has Toyota taken no steps toward producing an all-electric vehicle, it has publicly scorned and ridiculed those who do.

Sources: Toyota, Electrek, EVannex