Automakers must adapt as well as the automotive industry, especially when it comes to the creation of models that don’t take part in the hybrid and electrification revolution. The Toyota-BMW alliance was established as a result.
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The first task was to get a straight-six engine when Toyota decided to give a new sports car the illustrious “Supra” label. Why? because customer surveys revealed it was a necessity given that the inline-six engine was present in all four of the car’s prior incarnations. The simplest method to get one was to sign a contract with BMW and purchase their 3.0-liter engine, which is found in the Z4 M40i and the new M340i. Toyota chose against creating its own straight-six, which disappointed purists but was a smart business decision given that the Supra won’t be a high-volume vehicle.
Similar to other crucial components from BMW, including the eight-speed transmission and the chassis, the engine with Bavarian roots has been modified specifically for the Supra by Toyota’s specialists. The two businesses have vowed that their sports vehicles will have individual identities that go beyond the various body styles, while sharing quite a few elements. Since we’ve seen the new Z4 and a clear picture of the Supra, we can be certain that their exterior designs won’t be similar in any way.
Returning to the test drive event interview, Tada made a suggestion that future Gazoo Racing cars might feature engines created by Toyota’s go-faster division. These will be brand-new engines as opposed to more powerful versions of current engines, and they’ll probably work with electrification for an added boost and lower emissions.
The BMW-Toyota Partnership is Only Now Beginning
BMW and Toyota first announced their technological alliance in 2013, but things are just getting started now in 2020. According to Reuters, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse is in favor of not only extending the partnership until 2025 but also forging a closer connection.
At the Automobilwoche Kongress last week, Zipse added, “We would do well to strengthen ties in the coming decades.”
The alliance has so far produced two vehicles that share a common base and powertrain: a new BMW Z4 convertible and a Toyota Supra sports coupe. As demonstrated by vehicles like the Mazda MX-5 Miata/Fiat 124 Spider and the Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86, this kind of cost-sharing is becoming increasingly prevalent in the industry.
The agreement also covers hydrogen fuel cell propulsion, a field in which Toyota has deep expertise thanks to the Toyota Mirai, one of the first mass-produced fuel-cell cars on the market. At the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show, BMW debuted its own I Hydrogen NEXT crossover concept; however, the carmaker doesn’t plan to release a hydrogen vehicle in regular production until 2025 or later.
BMW’s CEO also said at Automobilwoche Kongress that if politicians started to push for increased hydrogen production globally, fuel cell vehicles would gain immensely.
However, there may be fewer resources available for enthusiast items like sports cars as BMW and other automakers move toward alternative power systems and various nations implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Last Monday, Zipse addressed that directly, first stating that BMW is considering how to save expenses by scaling back its portfolio before making the following foreboding declaration:
That seems to imply that, with or without a Toyota cooperation, vehicles like the Z4 might potentially end up on the scrap heap in the future.
A Toyota badge with BMW bones on the new Supra
Working together between various automakers is not uncommon. Cost and production time savings, as well as the utilization of shared technologies and resources, are frequent advantages of collaboration. Ford has already partnered with Mazda, Toyota has done it with Subaru, and BMW is currently collaborating with Jaguar Land Rover on electrification technology. Toyota and BMW have a long-standing cooperation that recently gave rise to the most recent version of the revered Supra, Toyota’s illustrious mid-sized sports car.
The new Supra, which is now in its fifth generation, doesn’t resemble the BMW Z4 with which it shares parts at all. It has fascinating shapes and pointed-looking headlights, whilst the Z4 has a curvier, more rounder style. The Supra’s bold dimensions can look a little off-putting from certain perspectives. It also sports a distinctive front fascia, as opposed to the safer, more traditional BMW look of the Z4’s.
Even though both vehicles are two-door sports cars, the Supra has a hardtop while the Z4 is only available as a convertible.
However, the new Supra contains a sizable amount of components with BMW stamps underneath. For instance, the inline-six engine came from BMW, but Toyota’s engineers tweaked it especially for the Supra. The chassis is identical to the Z4’s, and BMW likewise provides the eight-speed automatic transmission. The Magna Steyr facility in Graz, Austria, produces both vehicles.
The cooperation makes sense both economically and culturally. Toyota understood it had to offer the new Supra a straight-six engine in order to maintain the tradition set by earlier iterations of the Supra.
So instead of spending the time and money necessary to design and construct its own new straight-six, Toyota opted to use BMW’s.
According to Motor Trend, BMW decided against building a new version of a low-volume convertible because the costs associated with doing so would have been too high. BMW was able to release the new Z4 and the new Supra last year thanks in part to financial support from Toyota.
BMW and Toyota will collaborate on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, two EV laggards.
According to a story in Nikkei Asia, BMW and Toyota would collaborate to start making hydrogen fuel cell automobiles around the middle of this decade.
As early as 2025, the two will start making and marketing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles they jointly created, according to BMW sales head Pieter Nota.
The automakers have previously collaborated, collaboratively producing the BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra sports cars in 2019, as well as the iX5 Hydrogen SUV based on the X5 SUV from BMW.
Toyota has extensive experience with fuel cell technology and is now developing the second generation of its eight-year-old Mirai mid-size sedan. These vehicles generate power using hydrogen and oxygen rather than an engine or a battery.
Comparing fuel cells to battery-electric vehicles, there are benefits. They travel farther and can be refueled in three to four minutes. The majority of the public hydrogen stations in the United States are located in California, but even there they are not yet suitable for widespread use.
BMW has re-entered the EV market with the i4 four-door coupe and iX SUV, but the corporation has also made it clear that it plans to pursue hydrogen as well. Oliver Zipse, the company’s CEO, stated during a recent earnings call that the company’s next-generation platform, Neue Klasse, will probably be built to support the gaseous fuel in addition to just battery power.
The business previously used a platform called CLAR, which enabled internal combustion, plug-in hybrids, and full battery-electric propulsion, to pursue a similar all-of-the-above strategy. BMW was able to move rapidly on plug-in hybrids thanks to CLAR, but its more recent pure EV initiatives have lagged behind those of its rivals. Neue Klasse might experience the same issues or it might find solutions. Beginning in 2025, when new 3-series sedans and X3 SUVs built on the platform go on sale, the market will have the final say.
Both businesses can insure their investments in zero-emission automobiles thanks to the agreement. By the end of the decade, BMW wants sales of its corporate brands, which include Rolls-Royce and MINI, to be 50% electric vehicles.
Is Toyota partnered with BMW?
Over ten years have passed since BMW and Toyota first collaborated. Although they would jointly develop the Supra and Z4, their relationships go beyond their sports automobile. As early as 2025, the two will begin mass-producing and marketing the hydrogen fuel cell automobiles they designed together. The information was revealed in an interview with Nikkei Asia by Pieter Nota, head of sales at BMW.
Nota told the publication that BMW sees hydrogen as “especially suitable for larger SUVs,” however he did not disclose any other information about these upcoming fuel cell cars. According to old reports, BMW once considered equipping the X7 with hydrogen power.
How come Toyota chose BMW?
The head of Toyota’s performance division claims that BMW’s cooperation was forced upon it in part because it had the components required for the Supra, namely Bimmer’s roaring 3.0-liter inline-six engine.
What Toyota is manufactured by BMW?
A J29/DB The Toyota Supra is a sports automobile that Toyota has been manufacturing since 2019. It is primarily sold as the Toyota GR Supra. It succeeded the preceding model, the A80, whose production ceased in 2002, and is marketed under the Gazoo Racing (GR) name. The G29 BMW Z4 and the GR Supra were built on the same platform and were jointly developed by GR and BMW. The Magna Steyr facility in Graz, Austria, makes both automobiles.
The fifth-generation Supra is identified as a J29 series with DB model codes and adheres to BMW model code norms. To retain continuity with other Supra models, Toyota used the “A90” and “A91” codes in promotional and marketing materials for the fifth generation Supra.
Toyota utilizing BMW motors?
Two titans of the automobile industry, BMW and Toyota, have declared a “medium-to-long-term collaboration” in which they will cooperate to create and exchange green technologies.
Toyota will receive 1.6L to 2.0L diesel engines from BMW. In order to expand its market share on a continent where the vast majority of sold vehicles are powered by diesel engines, they will start incorporating them into some European models in 2014.
The two manufacturers will also work together to develop a brand-new line of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric cars.
At a time when the race to improve fuel efficiency and lower emissions has peaked, this partnership will enable the two corporations to cut research and development expenses.
This is Toyota’s second announcement of this kind; earlier this summer, Toyota teamed up with Ford to create a hybrid system for SUVs and vans.