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Dive Brief:

• Toyota Motor Co. and Suzuki Motor Corp. will collaborate on a new electric SUV that will be sold in global markets, the automaker announced in a press release Oct 30. It’s the first-ever electric vehicle collaboration between the two OEMs. 

• The new electric vehicle will be provided to Toyota by Suzuki. However, the EV’s platform was jointly developed by Suzuki, Toyota and Daihatsu Motor Co. utilizing the expertise and strengths of each company.

• The model is scheduled to be built at the Suzuki Motor Gujarat manufacturing facility in India beginning in spring 2025.

Dive Insight:

Suzuki chairman and current senior advisor Osamu Suzuki began discussing potential business partnerships with Toyota president and chairman Akio Toyoda in 2016, which included a wide range of potential collaboration opportunities.

These early efforts led to the market launch of new vehicles in Japan, India, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Now, the companies are targeting the EV market globally.

Rather than retrofitting an existing vehicle platform, the new vehicle was designed exclusively as an EV from the ground up, according to the release. Toyota says it will be a “nimble SUV with the sharp driving characteristics of a BEV” and will feature “ample cruising range and a comfortable cabin.” The electric SUV will also be available in a 4-wheel drive with more power and improved rough road performance.

"By leveraging the BEV unit and platform that we jointly developed, we will take a new step in our collaboration in the field of electrified vehicles,” Toyota President Koji Sato said in the release. “This will allow us to deliver various choices that contribute to a carbon-neutral society to customers worldwide.”

In addition to Suzuki, Toyota is also working with other automakers on new vehicles and technology. In 2022, Toyota launched the bZ4X electric SUV in Japan and the U.S., which was jointly developed with Subaru. In May of this year, Toyota and Subaru announced they are jointly developing four new battery electric SUVs by the end of 2026 that will be sold under each brand.

Toyota, Subaru and Mazda also announced plans in May to jointly develop new advanced gas-powered engines that will be optimized to better integrate with hybrid-electric powertrains or run on carbon-neutral fuels.