Monday, 19 December 2011

BMW / TOYOTA ENGINE AGREEMENT DOES NOT AFFECT LEXUS


BMW and Toyota’s engine agreement will not extend to Lexus, says Toyota Europe spokesman Etienne Plas. Speaking to Automotive News Europe, Mr Plas said Lexus, Toyota’s premium brand which competes directly with BMW, will be benefit from BMW engines. We expect this to be true, otherwise it would be quite an oddity to have your competitor powered by your engines like in Formula One.


Still, Toyota brand will continue with the agreement which kicks in sometime in 2012. The deal is only that BMW supplies 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre turbo diesel engines for Toyota in its European models. These include Auris X and Avensis, the former which Mzansi also gets.

This is a good deal for Toyota as it positions itself to be sportier and more desirable in terms of design, on its way to defending itself against Volkswagen’s imminent world dominance. Whether BMW can reciprocate by tapping into Toyota’s hybrid technology however, is not confirmed yet. The Germans already share engines with the PSA Group (Peugeot and Citroen), and they also have an agreement with SAAB, one that may end up not bearing any fruit.

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