Toyota And Suzuki Join Forces With New R&D Partnership

Toyota and Suzuki have announced an R&D partnership focusing on environmental, safety and IT technology.

The agreement is good news for Suzuki after its failed partnership with Volkswagen and a statement alluded to rivals in Europe and North America currently having a head-start in these areas.

“With its primary focus on small vehicles, Suzuki has been consistently refining its technologies so as to develop vehicles with high price competitiveness,” the statement said. “However in the face of advanced and future technology R&D field, Suzuki is increasingly feeling a sense of uncertainty.”

For Toyota, Suzuki partnership comes as the company winds-up its joint development work with BMW for the all-new Supra and Z5 hybrid sports cars.

“As the environment which surrounds the automobile industry has been changing drastically, we need to have the ability to respond to changes in order to survive,” Toyota president Akio Toyoda said.

“We would like to always keep our doors open for new partnership opportunities, which will contribute to the making of even better cars as well as the development of the automotive industry.”

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