Low emission cars bring Toyota and BMW together

December 2011

A partnership between Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and German marque BMW was announced at last week's Tokyo Motor Show, with the brands to share engine and technology information.

In line with the car industry's move away from its reliance on fossil fuels, BMW and Toyota have agreed to collaborate on research and development into lithium ion battery technology.

"The battery technology that we will develop with BMW will be the core technology for both reducing and replacing petroleum fuel," Toyota executive vice-president Takeshi Uchiyamada said in a statement.

"We think that this collaboration will allow for development of next-generation batteries to be done fast and to a higher level."

From 2014, BMW will also supply Toyota with small diesel engines as part of the landmark agreement.

BMW head of development Dr Klaus Draeger indicated that while the partnership would likely extend beyond lithium ion batteries and diesel engines, improving battery technology was the priority.

"In the spirit of contributing to furthering the development of the auto industry and society, both companies will bring their wide-ranging knowledge - starting with that concerning environmental technologies - to the table and make ever-better cars," Toyota President Akio Toyota added.