Toyota’s hybrid technology could end up in cars built by other automakers.
The company is planning to share its powertrain technology with its rivals, in hopes of boosting sales and speeding up the adoption of electrification to help lower emissions in vehicles. Toyota admits that it’s considering selling complete powertrain modules to other companies, a bit similar to the deal it had with Tesla years ago with the Tesla Roadster.
“Toyota suppliers produce a lot of technology which can only be used by Toyota,” said Toshiyuki Mizushima, president of Toyota’s powertrain company. “We want to change that to a system where we develop technology with our suppliers at an early stage … so they can make that technology available to non-Toyota customers.”
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It’s a move that reflects the changing landscape of the automotive markets, with other companies creating relationships and sharing powertrain and other components to help simplify costs. Toyota itself has worked with Subaru on the FR-S and BRZ sports cars, and is currently collaborating with BMW to create what is believed to be a sports car platform that underpins the future BMW Z5 and Supra successor.
[Source: Reuters]
