BMW to develop sports car with Toyota as tieup deepens

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BMW, the world’s biggest maker of luxury vehicles, will work with Toyota to produce a midsize sports car, expanding their cooperation amid industry efforts to limit development costs.

BMW and Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, will also set up partnerships to create fuel-cell systems, lightweight materials and lithium-air batteries, the companies said Thursday. The two began collaborating in 2011 on lithium-ion batteries and other fuel-saving projects.

The collaboration allows Toyota to expand its European lineup of diesel-powered vehicles. BMW, meanwhile, gets to work with the world’s biggest producer of hybrid vehicles as the German company develops alternative powering systems while fending off efforts by VW’s Audi division to take the global lead in luxury car sales.

“The cooperation between BMW and Toyota is very promising,” said Juergen Pieper, a Frankfurt-based analyst with Bankhaus Metzler. “The two companies are working together from a position of strength, and doing so as a matter of choice rather than pressure. The Peugeot-Opel (GM) partnership has more the tone of an emergency alliance.”

BMW’s talks to work with Toyota on electric drivetrains are continuing, BMW spokesman Mathias Schmidt said. The German carmaker dissolved a joint venture to develop electric powertrains with Peugeot Citroen last year after General Motors took a 7 percent stake in the French company.

Toyota is aiming for a joint project in the development of battery-powered cars, Yasumori Ihara, a senior managing officer, said Thursday at a Tokyo news conference. BMW will supply Toyota with 1.6-liter and 2-liter engines for the Japanese company’s models in Europe starting in 2014.

Under its new i sub-brand, BMW plans to introduce its first electric-powered model, the i3 city car, later this year. The vehicle will be followed by the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, which is scheduled to go on sale in 2014.

“In light of the technological changes ahead, the entire automotive industry faces tremendous challenges, which we also regard as an opportunity,” BMW Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer said in a statement. “This collaboration is an important building block in keeping both companies on a successful course in the future.”

Automakers have been setting up technology development deals to share spending on vehicles and recoup investments quicker as parts are used in more models.

Source: japantimes.co.jp