Toyota to build Suzukis based on the Corolla and RAV4 in the UK

As part of a wide-ranging partnership, Toyota is to be build two cars in the UK for Suzuki, one based on the Corolla and one on the RAV4.

Partnerships between car makers look to be the only sustainable way for growth as technology costs rise, and the partnership between Toyota and Suzuki is another example of wide-ranging co-operation offering opportunities for economically sensible growth.

Having signed an MOU more than two years ago to collaborate, there’s now concrete agreement on what’s going on, with Toyota’s electrification nous and Suzuki’s compact vehicle expertise driving opportunities.

The headline, certainly for the UK, is that Toyota will be building two new electrified Suzuki vehicles in the UK – one based on the Corolla Estate and one on the RAV4 – which, although unlikely to create extra jobs, is a boost for a Brexit-beleaguered industry.

Elsewhere, Toyota will be adopting Suzuki’s compact powertrains for use in its compact cars, and there will be lots of co-operation in India and Africa to deliver hybrids and Toyota-badged Suzuki compact vehicles.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda said:

Through our new agreement, we look forward to the wider use of hybrid technologies, not only in India and Europe, but around the world. At the same time, we believe that the expansion of our business partnership with Suzuki—from the mutual supply of vehicles and powertrains to the domains of development and production—will help give us the competitive edge we will need to survive this once-in-a-century period of profound transformation.

Sounds like a plan.