BMW will soon supply Toyota with small diesel engines and, in return, will be assisted in hybrid systems development
The intensive competition in the automotive market has created a new alliance, currently on a small scale, between Toyota and BMW. As of 2014, BMW will begin supplying Toyota with advanced 1.6 and 2.0 liter diesel engines and in return Toyota will help BMW in the development of hybrid systems. However, both automakers will develop together the next generation lithium-ion battery technology. For Toyota, this agreement might be a turning point in its European operations. Currently, the company is suffering from a lack of diesel engines which are popular in European. In this market, Toyota, despite their long time efforts, just couldn’t increase its market share. However, both companies are not direct competitors since they are addressing significantly different market segments. BMW’s sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson said: “Both companies set the benchmark in complementary fields. Toyota has a wealth of experience to offer when it comes to battery technology, and the BMW Group has long been at the forefront developing some of the most technologically advanced clean diesel engines available.” Toyota President Akio Toyoda said: “It is a great joy and a thrill to enter into this mid-to-long-term collaborative relationship with BMW. In the spirit of contributing to furthering the development of the auto industry and society, both companies will bring their wide-ranging knowledge - starting with that concerning environmental technologies - to the table and make ever-better cars.”
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