Toyota expressed its interest to GM, the world's largest automaker, in late April, the Japanese automaker said in a release.
The exchange, called Covisint, awaits regulatory approval from the European Union and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler decided in February to combine online buying to leverage the power of their collective US$240 billion annual purchasing budgets.
Toyota's move comes after rival Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA agreed last month to join Covisint, boosting the potential purchasing scale to about US$300 billion a year. Automakers are moving to Web-based purchasing to win significant cost reductions from suppliers.
''We told GM we are interested in joining GM's Internet procurement system,'' Toyota said. The automaker plans to work out the details of its participation later.
Toyota shares fell as much as 5.6 percent, or 300 yen, to 5,040 in Tokyo. The stock was last bid at 5,200, down 140 yen.
General Motors shares closed up 3 1/8 to 89 1/2 in New York Stock Exchange trading yesterday, while Ford rose 1 1/4 to 53 5/8, and DaimlerChrysler's U.S. stock fell 5/8 to 54 5/16.
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