Mazda would be wise to hook on to Toyota’s hybrid technology

It may seem counterintuitive for a business to share technological breakthroughs with competitors, but this isn’t the case with Toyota’s hybrid know-how.

Boasting the most popular hybrid with the Prius, Toyota will gain the most if hybrids take a bigger market share globally.

On Thursday, a Toyota spokesman told the Associated Press the Japanese automaker will consider requests from competitors to share how its hybrid technology.

A Japanese business newspaper reported Toyota and Mazda are close to a deal in which Mazda would gain access to Toyota batteries, motors and electronic parts.

Although it seems like a clear win-win, Mazda has denied this deal as speculation. But is that the right move? Mazda’s top dogs may just be hiding their cards, but if not, they’re making a mistake.

The markets help tell the story. In Japan, Mazda’s stock bumped up 6.2 percent Thursday after the supposed technology sharing plan with Toyota.

Any car manufacturer that isn’t screeching into the hybrid market segment must be out of touch. Even if Mazda excepted Toyota’s leg up, it wouldn’t be able to produce a hybrid until 2013.

By then, fuel standards will be up and hybrids are likely to be more popular than ever. Toyota’s already taking full advantage. On Tuesday, Toyota launched the first Lexus hybrid, the HS250h.

Toyota has proven it’s still king of the Japanese auto market with the Prius. Although the Honda Insight was a hit this spring, the Prius outsold the Insight in May and June.

Since debuting in February, Honda has sold 38,700 Insights worldwide. Toyota has announced orders for Priuses topping 200,000.

The Insight’s success has caused Honda to throw a little more weight at the green car industry. They plan to offer hybrid versions of the CR-Z and the Fit.

At the same time, more players than ever are jumping into hybrids. Nissan hopes to have its own hybrid technology by 2011 and Kia just revealed its Forte Hybrid in Korea.

And if Mazda doesn’t catch on soon, it’ll be left in the dust.