It is a season of automotive manufacturers collaborating for research and development. Earlier in the month, Yamaha and Honda announced a collaboration for developing small capacity scooters, and now two more Japanese majors are looking at ways to synergise. Toyota Motor Corp and Suzuki Motor Co have announced that they are now exploring a potential partnership on R&D for technology, infrastructure and safety tech as well.
(Toyota is exploring the possibility of partnering with Suzuki)Akio Toyoda, CEO and President, Toyota, said: "As the environment which surrounds the automobile industry has been changing drastically, we need to have the ability to respond to changes in order to survive. In addition to the R&D, which each company is working on individually, it is very important now to have partners who share the same goal and passion. We would like to always keep doors open for new partnership opportunities, which will contribute to the making of ever-better cars as well as to the development of the automotive industry."
The two say that in order to achieve technological excellence and set new benchmarks, working together is becoming extremely important in the current automotive setup. Suzuki says that it is constantly working on refining and bettering its R&D capability but with the industry itself moving at a rapid pace, the company felt it needs to do more. Toyota too acknowledges that it needs to ensure it stays ahead on the technology front.
(Suzuki will be more than happy to collaborate with Toyota for developing new tech)Osamu Suzuki, Chairman of Suzuki, says, "Toyota is the industry-leading and the most reliable company which is actively working on various advanced and future technologies. I am appreciative that Suzuki is able to start discussions with Toyota to explore ideas on a partnership. I first spoke about this possibility with Toyota's Honorary Chairman Shoichiro Toyoda, and am very grateful that President Akio Toyoda has also showed an interest. We will proceed with discussions for the future of Suzuki."
The two companies have said that they are interested in partnering together to overcome the difficulties and technology challenges brought on by increasing competition. There is a possibility that these two companies might even entertain the possibility of a third company entering this collaboration. Interestingly this announcement was made a year after Suzuki and Volkswagen annulled their partnership. It also comes at a time when Nissan is looking to acquire stake in ailing Mitsubishi Motors, and bring that brand into the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Toyota has also taken over Daihatsu - the Japanese small car specialist, a few months ago.
