Toyota, Subaru, and Mazda join forces to design new engines
This week Toyota Motor and two other Japanese automakers Subaru and Mazda Motor stated on Tuesday that they would invest in new engines that can be electrified. The three announced in their statements that, “each of the three firms involved will strive to improve the connectivity of the engines with motors, batteries, and other electrical drive components,” vowing to develop engines that can fit into a slim design to help reduce hoods.
Toyota which has realized good results in global markets particularly in the U. S with the use of petrol-electric hybrids asserts that a small and lighter engine can assist to transform vehicle design because of space available under the hood. The CTO Hiroki Nakajima too put it in the same fashion when he said, “If it is cool, it will sell, therefore profit will rise. If it’s not cool, no one will buy it. ”
Continuing on this note, this announcement shines a light on the deep relationships that Toyota has with Subaru and Mazda. Toyota company owns about 20% of Subaru’s stocks and approximately 5% of Mazda stocks. The three automobile manufacturers opined that their strategies would result in a process that would convert internal combustion engines to accept e-fuels and biofuels as sources of energy.
Car makers are witnessing much higher regulatory stringency in markets such as the EU which are working on ‘Euro 7’ set of rules that are hoped to target cars and vans starting 2030. They also intend to outlaw from 2035 the new CO2 emitting cars.
To sum up, Toyota has been implementing the “multi pathway” strategy, which implies shifting toward carbon neutrality through the production of vehicles with various power trains on the market. ,000 units annually during the first three months of this year alone. 4 million vehicles, among them 40 per cent were gasoline-elecric hybrid automobiles. More specifically, plug-in hybrid, fuel-cell, and all-battery electric cars collectively made up for just 2. 9%.
The chairman of the company, Akio Toyoda, got to say in January that the global auto market could be composed of up to 30% electric cars with the remaining unit being composed of hybrid units, hydrogen fuel-celled cars and units that burn fuel.
