Toyota Motor Corp. will shift half of all vehicles it makes to new cost-saving platforms by 2020, following a similar move by rival Volkswagen AG.

By moving to the new underpinnings and more use of common components, Toyota will reduce development costs by at least 20 percent, Executive Vice President Mitsuhisa Kato said Thursday in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, where the company is based. The initiative, called Toyota New Global Architecture, follows a strategy Volkswagen began to implement in 2012.

The world's biggest carmakers are promising far-reaching benefits, including lower costs and higher productivity, by designing more new models with fewer platforms. They are also counting on the strategy to free up resources to develop cars that are lighter, more fuel-efficient and packed with new technology.