Mazda, Toyota Partnership Announced

Mazda and Toyota announced a plan today that will deepen ties between the two manufacturers in an effort to reduce development costs.

The two manufacturers said today that they are forming a joint committee to evaluate “how best to utilize each company’s respective strengths.” Earlier this week, reports suggested that Toyota is planning to supply Mazda with plug-in hybrid and hydrogen powertrains. During a press conference that took place today, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda and Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai cited hybrid and hydrogen technologies as possible, but unconfirmed, possibilities for the Mazda Toyota partnership.

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Toyota and Mazda currently cooperate on various levels. Mazda is about to begin supplying a sedan version of the new Mazda2 that Toyota will sell as the Scion iA. Toyota supplies hybrid components to Mazda for the Mazda3. While specific product details and a timeline weren’t part of the announcement today, the companies said their new agreement will “transcend the boundaries of previous cooperation.”

In late March Toyota announced progress in its path toward introducing products based on its TNGA architecture, which will move many of its nameplates to a unified scalable structure similar in strategy to Volkswagen’s MQB platform. The move will help Toyota to cut costs by spreading development over more nameplates globally.

But that isn’t the only place Toyota is partnering up to save money. The global giant is also co-developing a new sports car with BMW that is expected to spawn a spiritual successor to the Supra along with a Z4 replacement.

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