Toyota is teaming up with Suzuki Motor Corporation, Daihatsu Motor Co. and Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies (CJPT) to build commercial electric minivans next year, Japanese automaker announced tuesday.

Suzuki and Daihatsu will bring their knowledge of mini-vehicle manufacturing to the table, while Toyota will showcase its electrification technology to jointly develop the BEV system. CJPT will help plan and establish energy management systems. Toyota said such sharing of resources and expertise would help companies get a minivan that’s more affordable than most commercial electric vehicles on the market today.

Toyota said the fuel cell electric vans it is developing will be used in social implementation projects in Fukushima Prefecture and Tokyo.

Toyota has also shared plans to develop lightweight fuel cell electric trucks for the mass market, alongside CJPT, Hino Motors and Isuzu Motors.

According to a statement launched by the company, the light hydrogen trucks are ideal for mid-mile delivery to supermarkets and convenience stores, not only because they are built with refrigeration and freezing capabilities, but also because they can meet rapid refueling requirements.

These partnerships are part of Toyota’s broader mission to achieve a hydrogen society and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The automaker also announced its strategy, in partnership with Fukushimato create an implementation model focused on the use of hydrogen in cities of around 300,000 people, and future fuel cell minivans and light trucks will play a crucial role.

The project with Fukushima will focus on deliveries to supermarkets and convenience stores, which Toyota says are essential city infrastructure, as well as disaster evacuation areas. Starting in January 2023, Toyota will deploy about 60 light-duty fuel cell electric trucks in the cities of Iwaki and Koriyama, the automaker said, noting that it plans to introduce heavy-duty trucks there as well.

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All trucks will be linked by an energy management system that links each company’s fleet management, vehicle movement information and hydrogen station information, Toyota said. The system will help create a more efficient network by avoiding traffic jams and minimizing downtime for vehicles and goods.

Toyota’s plan with Fukushima will also involve decarbonizing factories and hydrogen stores by increasing the use of renewable energy. It will rely on the factories of the automotive supplier Denso Fukushima to highlight the implementation of hydrogen technologies. Denso will build a locally produced hydrogen model that can be used as a fuel cell generator in offices, according to Toyota.