Ford Motor Company and Toyota Motor Corporation jointly announced Monday they have entered into agreements to develop a hybrid drivetrain system specifically designed for trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

This preliminary agreement focuses on the overarching goal of both companies to develop such engine technology for use by the end of the decade to deal with increasingly stringent requirements for vehicle emissions in the United States.

“This is the kind of collaborative effort that is required to address the big global challenges of energy independence and environmental sustainability,” Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally commented in a prepared statement.

The two companies have not completed many of the major aspects of the deal, including shared costs, but stated in the announcement that they plan to do so by the end of 2012.

Sport-utility vehicles and trucks have long been criticized for their fuel inefficiency and high emissions while also serving as some of the most popular selling vehicles on the market.

“Our collaboration with Ford is a move to make hybrid technology more widely available in sport-utility vehicles and in trucks,” stated Toyota Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada. “Those kinds of models are indispensable to American customers. And providing them with our hybrid technology will help conserve energy and reduce output of greenhouse gas here in the United States.”

In an age of high caliber deals and acquisitions, the manner in which this deal first began is strikingly simple—Mulally and Toyota President Akio Toyoda first discussed the idea during a conversation that followed bumping into each other at an airport.

This collaboration between two direct competitors signals the difficulty of designing a hybrid system that can handle the rigors normally inflicted on trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

While Ford and Toyota both already have considerable experience in designing front-wheel drive hybrid engine systems for cars, a hybrid rear-wheel drive system that does not lose significant power and torque, thus losing towing capacity, has proven difficult to design.

While the majority of the announcement focused on the collaboration towards this hybrid technology, the companies also announced that as part of the joint venture they would work together on developing communication and Internet connected systems technology for their vehicles.

While the agreement is the first formal joint venture between the two companies, it is not the first time that they have had favorable relations when it comes to the exchange of technologies.

According to Reuters in 2005, Ford exchanged its direct-injection technology with Toyota for their hybrid drive system, as both companies sought to make improvements to their car designs.

The venture certainly indicates a growing willingness between the two companies to work with each other but it does not signal an end to their competition in the market.

“Clearly Ford and Toyota will remain competitors,” stated Derrick Kuzak, vice president for research and development at Ford. “By working together, we will be able to offer our customers more affordable technology sooner.”