Toyota to get BMW Diesel Engines, BMW to get Toyota Hybrid Technology

BMW & Toyota in talks to share technology

Toyota and BMW are reportedly in talks to share technology, with BMW getting access to Toyota’s hybrid expertise, and Toyota getting BMW diesel engines.

A profitable future for car makers relies to a great extent on yielding the best return they can from their own products, and using the products of other car makers to augment their own range at sensible money.

That imperative explains the report today that BMW and Toyota are in talks to exchange technology at which they excel; Toyota with hybrid technology and BMW with diesel engines.

Toyota has two aims with these discussions: to find a way to augment its current offerings with diesel engines – particularly in Europe – and to find a source outside Japan to mitigate the strength of the Yen.

Diesel engines from BMW are a great solution for Toyota. Not only are BMW diesel engines as good as they get, but Toyota would be able to purchase the engines in Europe for European production, cutting costs as well as getting a better engine.

Although BMW is working hard on its hybrid technology with stuff like the proposed range-extender for the new i3 – and has an agreement with PSA on hybrid tech – they will find Toyota’s huge experience in hybrid cars an invaluable resource. Funding their own hybrid development would be a lot more costly for BMW than buying-n technology from Toyota, and cutting a deal for diesel engines in exchange for hybrid technology would be a big plus for BMW.

It’s getting hard to find any car that doesn’t use product from other car makers, and as the cost of R&D contiunues to rise, sharing technology is pragmatic, cost-effective and will yield better cars at lower costs for customers.

So a BMW/Toyota partnership is a win-win for the car makers, and their customers.

By Cars UK