Toyota Motor has agreed to buy into Cellcentric, the hydrogen fuel-cell joint venture of Daimler Truck and Volvo Group, creating a three-way alliance aimed at speeding development and mass production of hydrogen systems for heavy-duty trucks. Industry sources said Toyota signed a binding agreement in July, with the deal subject to regulatory approval, and each company will hold 33.3% once completed. Toyota is set to contribute core fuel-cell technologies including cells, materials and stacks. The combination raises competitive pressure on Hyundai Motor, which mass-produced the Xcient heavy-duty hydrogen electric truck in 2020 and says its fleet has logged more than 27 million kilometers globally as of July. The broader contest is increasingly shifting from vehicle launches to ecosystem buildout, including refueling, maintenance, operations and total cost of ownership, as China, Japan and the EU back hydrogen commercial mobility with funding, emissions rules and hydrogen station targets. Analysts say hydrogen trucks have an edge over battery electric trucks in medium- and long-haul logistics because they can refuel faster and travel farther, suggesting both powertrains may be deployed side by side depending on use case.