DETROIT (AP) — German automaker BMW AG and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to jointly develop a sports car, hydrogen fuel cells and electric car technology. They'll also work together to make cars lighter under a deal signed in Germany on Friday.

The companies had been inching closer together since December, when they signed an agreement for BMW to provide Toyota with small diesel engines in Europe.

The new deal lets the companies share in the other's strengths. Toyota is a world leader in gas-electric hybrid technology, but has been criticized for designing dull vehicles. BMW is a leader in building fast and sporty cars.

"I get so excited thinking about the cars that will result from this relationship," Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in a statement.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding at BMW's Munich headquarters on Friday to jointly develop a hydrogen fuel cell system, work together on the undercarriage and components for a future sports car, collaborate on electric propulsion systems and do research together on technology that will make cars lighter.

"We aim to further strengthen our competitive position in sustainable future technologies," Norbert Reithofer, chairman of BMW's management board, said in the statement.

In March the companies signed a deal to collaborate on the next generation of lithium-ion batteries to be used in electric cars.