Last week’s rumor of a BMW-Toyota partnership has come to fruition as the recent Tokyo Auto Show proved. At an offsite press conference during the show, both CEO’s meet together to explain just what the purpose of the venture will be. The original assumptions of a ‘green’ engine program appear to be more than just that as “environmentally friendly” technology will be built between the two companies. Both brands have fairly vast expertise in different fields of alternative fueled vehicles: BMW knows diesels while Toyota is a mastermind with hybrid and battery technology. With the press conference behind the industry, it is now safe to say that part swapping will occur rather soon.
According to Car & Driver Magazine, BMW engines will be found under the hoods of Toyota products starting in 2014. As of now, the plan is to keep the engines in cars “locally produced”, i.e. Europe. Diesels have a much larger market share across the pond compared to in the United States, so the chances of a BMW powered Toyota on American soil is still rather slim. Even so, Toyota will gain a wealth of experience and sophistication by using BMW-sourced engines. They should also be able to cut back costs as the German blocks will replace Toyota’s current diesel engines found in cars like the euro-spec Yaris. In exchange for the better engines, Toyota will work with BMW to supply new battery and hybrid technology. The idea is to lower the cost of lithium-ion batteries, especially is the more upscale market BMW is used to. After all, according to BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer, Toyota is a “leading provider of environment-friendly series technology in the volume segment.”
Source: Car & Driver
