CHINESE electric car brand BYD Auto and Japanese truck maker Hino Motors said Wednesday they are jointly setting up a company to develop battery-powered trucks and buses.

The venture is one of a series of tie-ups between Chinese and foreign automakers to share the multibillion-dollar costs of electric development. Beijing has spent heavily to promote the technology but is winding down subsidies.

BYD Auto Industry Co., a unit of battery producer BYD Ltd., and Hino Motors Ltd. said each would supply 50% of the investment for the company, due to be launched next year, but gave no other financial details.

Vehicles will be sold under the Hino brand starting in the first half of the 2020s, the companies said. They said details of vehicle sizes and where they would be sold still were being decided.