Toyota plans to offer its hybrid powertrains to rivals as diesel alternative

Toyota is planning to make its hybrid powertrains and technology available to rival car makers to boost sales and increase low emission sales.

Toyota, arguably the world’s biggest car company, has long guarded its hybrid technology from rivals, choosing to focus on developing a ‘clean’ car future in a different way to most.

Instead of ploughing headlong in to diesel technologies – and being criticised for not offering a wide range of diesel options in their cars because of it – Toyota has pursued the path of hybrid powertrains to minimise emissions.

That path has now proved incredibly prescient, as the world wakes up to the real emissions from diesel engines – the NOx and Particulates – in the wake of the dieselgate scandal, and legislators around the world look set to make diesel engines the new green pariah, Toyota’s hybrid technology looks even more appealing.

But rather than sit with a corporate smug grin and hybrid technology arguably more developed, effective and efficient than the rest of the car industry, Toyota looks set to share its powertrains and technology with rivals.

Speaking to Automotive News, Toshiyuki Mizushima, President Of Toyota Powertrains, said:

Toyota suppliers produce a lot of technology which can only be used by Toyota.

We want to change that to a system where we develop technology with our suppliers at an earlier stage … so they can make that technology available to non-Toyota customers.

He also went on to say that he would like to see Toyota offer its powertrain modules to rivals too. And that makes a lot of sense.

The amount of technology going in to a modern car is mind boggling, and the R&D costs enormous (Toyota’s R&D spend was over £7 billion last year). Mitigating that cost by deriving revenue from their hybrid powertrains is just common sense.

And the chances are, as this is Toyota, that the parts rivals buy in will be higher quality than any they could develop and manufacture themselves.