FIRST: Debut BMW engine for Toyota
Toyota are rolling out the brand’s first BMW-sourced engine by adding a 1.6 D-4D to the Verso compact MPV range.
The collaboration, which was agreed two years ago, signals the first step of a mid-to-long-term relationship on next-generation environmentally-efficient engines.
Set to be added to the range in early 2014, the 111bhp engine – which offers CO2 emissions of 119g/km – takes the number of Verso powertrains available to four.
Didier Leroy, Senior Managing Officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, and President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe (TME), said: “At Toyota, we believe that tackling environmental challenges facing our industry will require more than one approach.
“Hybrid is at the core of our strategy towards sustainable mobility, but we also see a role for clean diesel in Europe.
“Working together with an industry leader like the BMW Group allows us to benefit from economies of scale to reduce development costs as well as improve our time-to-market.”
The R&D team at Toyota’s European technical centre in Belgium led the development of the Verso 1.6 D-4D.
Production will begin in January 2014 at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey’s Adapazari plant, the centre for all Verso vehicles.
Looking forward, Toyota and BMW Group will also co-develop a fuel cell system, work on lightweight vehicle body technologies and undertake joint-research into lithium-air batteries.
