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Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Suzuki Motor Corporation (Suzuki) on Wednesday announced an agreement to begin considering concrete collaboration in new fields, including the spread of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technologies in India through local procurement of HEV systems, engines and batteries.
Toyota and Suzuki have been considering concrete details of such a collaboration since concluding a memorandum of understanding towards business partnership in February 2017.
“Toyota and Suzuki, in addition to bringing together Toyota’s strength in electrification technologies and Suzuki’s strength in technologies for compact vehicles, intend to grow in new fields such as joint collaboration in production and in the widespread popularisation of electrified vehicles,” Toyota said in a statement.
Areas of collaboration
The intended areas of collaboration include provision of electrified technology and electrified vehicles by Toyota and the supply of THS (Toyota Hybrid System) to Suzuki globally; spread of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technologies in India through local procurement of HEV systems, engines, and batteries.
OEM (original equipment manufacturer) supply of two new electrified vehicles built on Toyota platforms (RAV4, Corolla Wagon) to Suzuki in Europe; and OEM supply of two compact vehicles built on Suzuki platforms (Ciaz and Ertiga) to Toyota in India.
The agreement also includes OEM supply of Suzuki’s India produced vehicles (Baleno, Vitara Brezza, Ciaz, Ertiga) to Toyota, targeting the African market.
Drawing upon Suzuki’s expertise in developing vehicles in India, the agreement covers joint development of a Toyota C-segment MPV and OEM supply to Suzuki; and production of the Suzuki-developed compact SUV Vitara Brezza at Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) from 2022.
Toyota will also adopt newly developed Suzuki engines for compact vehicles. Such engines would be supported by Denso and Toyota, and would be manufactured at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Poland.
Speaking on the development, Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota said, “Through our new agreement, we look forward to the wider use of hybrid technologies, not only in India and Europe, but around the world. At the same time, we believe that the expansion of our business partnership with Suzuki — from the mutual supply of vehicles and power-trains to the domains of development and production — will help give us the competitive edge we need to survive this once-in-a-century period of profound transformation.”
When it comes to vehicle electrification, which is expected to make further inroads, hybrid technologies are seen as playing a huge role in many markets. Widespread acceptance is necessary for electrified vehicles to be able to contribute to the earth’s environment, he said.
“We intend to strengthen the competitiveness of both our companies by applying our strong points and learning from each other,” he added. Suzuki Chairman Osamu Suzuki said, “At the time we announced our scope of cooperation in May last year, I said we would strive for success globally. I have seen progress in the partnership since then, and it is my pleasure to be able to make this announcement today regarding the status of partnership on a global basis, including Europe and Africa. In addition, we appreciate the kind offer from Toyota to let us make use of their hybrid technology. We will continue our utmost efforts.”
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