Skip to main content

BMW and Toyota to strengthen collaboration

Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), and Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the BMW, have announced the planned expansion of their existing cooperation initiated in December last year. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at a long-term strategic collaboration in four fields: joint development of a fuel cell system, joint development of architecture and components for a future sports vehicle, collaboration on powertrain electrification and joint research and de
July 3, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Akio Toyoda, president of 1686 Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), and Norbert Reithofer, chairman of 1731 BMW, have announced the planned expansion of their existing cooperation initiated in December last year. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at a long-term strategic collaboration in four fields: joint development of a fuel cell system, joint development of architecture and components for a future sports vehicle, collaboration on powertrain electrification and joint research and development on lightweight technologies.

Reithofer and Toyoda also signed a joint statement to reconfirm their companies’ shared intention to strengthen the long-term, strategic collaboration between them.

In March 2012, the BMW Group and TMC signed a binding agreement on collaborative research in the field of next-generation lithium-ion battery cells. In addition, the BMW Group and Toyota Motor Europe entered into a contract in December last year, under which the BMW Group will supply highly efficient 1.6 litre and 2.0 litre diesel engines to Toyota Motor Europe starting in 2014.

This latest MoU represents the companies’ agreement in December last year to identify and discuss other possible collaborative projects.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • CES 2021 | Connecting cities
    March 1, 2021
    Covid-19 forced the Las Vegas Convention Center to close its doors for CES 2021, but the trade show’s online debut suggests the pandemic is helping cities
  • Joined-up thinking for future ITS
    May 8, 2015
    David Crawford looks at a US model which, for modest federal funding, is producing substantive results. Outward and upward is the clear message emerging from the US$458,000, 2015 workplan of the US government’s ENTERPRISE (Evaluating New TEchnologies for Roads PRogram Initiatives in Safety and Efficiency) joint funding scheme for ITS research.
  • Viaduct deck renewal creates detour dilemma for MassDOT
    May 26, 2016
    As the deck renewal of the I-91 viaduct in Springfield gets underway, David Crawford looks at the preparation and planning to ease the resulting traffic congestion. Accommodating the deck renewal of a 4km-long/four-lanes in each direction viaduct in the heart of Springfield (Massachusetts’ third largest city), has involved the state’s Department of Transportation (MassDOT) in a massive exercise in transport research and ITS-based area-wide preplanning and traffic management. Supporting a workzone of well ab
  • Finland successfully tests wood-based diesel fuel
    December 2, 2016
    Finnish company UPM has tested Finnish wood-based diesel fuel both in laboratory conditions as well as in traffic and says the tests demonstrated that its renewable diesel, UPM BioVerno, works like the best diesel fuels. The laboratory tests of renewable UPM BioVerno diesel were conducted at the VTT Technical Research Centre (VTT), with field tests in Helsinki region bus traffic in collaboration with Helsinki Region Transport (HSL). The year-long bus field tests measurements were carried out by VTT and t