Telecoms firms seek patent fees from Toyota, others for connected cars -media

FILE PHOTO: The Toyota logo is seen at its booth during a media day for the Auto Shanghai show in Shanghai, China, April 19, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song

TOKYO (Reuters) - A group of 48 telecoms companies including Japan's NTT is seeking patent fees from Toyota Motor Corp and other automakers for components used to connect cars to the internet, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.

Nokia, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) and other firms are demanding Toyota, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co pay $15 per car in exchange for comprehensive use of related patents, the Nikkei said.

The move is likely to lead to higher costs for the carmakers, the paper said, adding it is unclear if the automakers will agree to pay for the patents.

Spokespeople at Toyota, Nissan and NTT declined to comment, while no one was available to comment at Honda.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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