Toyotas to get BMW diesel engines in Europe
Last week we revealed that BMW and Toyota were discussing swapping engines and hybrid technology in an effort to cut costs and improve products. And now we have the first fruits of those discussions confirmed.
Toyota are to get access to BMW’s 1.6 litre and 2.0 litre diesel engines to stick in to Toyota’s for the European market from 2014. Which is good news for Toyota and good news for Toyota drivers (it’s probably not bad for BMW’s balance sheet either).
BMW diesel engines are probably about as good as they get. They offer great economy and low emissions but are still powerful and smooth enough to make you question at times if you’re really driving an oil-burning car.
We tested BMW’s 2.0 litre diesel in its most frugal form in the 320d EfficientDynamics last year, and we really couldn’t fault its power deliver or its economy. Even with endless ‘spirited’ driving we got well over 50mpg.
We did think that BMW were likely to get access to Toyota’s Hybrid technology, but the only eco stuff confirmed so far from the talks is that BMW and Toyota are going to work together on next generation lithium-ion battery technology – but it looks like there may be more collaboration to come.
Of course, news like this wouldn’t be complete without a bit of back-scratching from both sides. BMW’s Norbert Reithofer said:
Toyota is the leading provider of environment-friendly series technology in the volume segment and the BMW Group is the most innovative and sustainable manufacturer of premium automobiles. We are now joining forces to further develop environment-friendly technologies and to expand our innovation leadership in each of our segments. Supplying Toyota with our fuel efficient and dynamic diesel engines represents another important step in the planned expansion of our sales activities for engines and powertrain system.
In response, Toyota’s Akio Toyoda said:
It is a great joy and a thrill to enter into this mid-to-long-term collaborative relationship with BMW, a company with its own culture and history from its many years of car manufacturing in Europe, and a company that makes cars that are fun to drive. 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.
BMW & Toyota – a match made in heaven?
Source: Toyota
Have your say - leave a comment