TOKYO -- Toyota Motor will procure some of its electrical steel sheet from China Baowu Steel Group, China's largest steel supplier, in a move that could presage an era in which Japanese steel-makers will have to compete on price as well as quality, Nikkei has learned.
Steel sheet is a high-performance product and a crucial electric vehicle material, the production of which requires sophisticated technology. Because high quality is critical, Toyota has mainly sourced it from Japan's leading steel-makers.
