Suzuki has entered an agreement to manufacture and supply a new Battery Electric Vehicle SUV model for Toyota starting next year.
An announcement on 30 October shows that the new agreement is part of the two companies’ resolve to deepen collaboration on electric vehicles.
According to the press release, Suzuki will start manufacturing the new SUV model in Spring of 2025, at the Suzuki Motor Gujarat in India.
A long standing partnership
Toyota and Suzuki have come a long way over the years, and the current partnership is a step further in their relationship.
The two companies started in the same western part of Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan, and have explored many areas of collaboration in the past.
Such areas include production and mutual supply of vehicles and the spread of electrified vehicles, leading to a large market launch of collaboration vehicles in Japan, India, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
The new collaboration however, marks the first BEV in the OEM relationship between the auto giants, and will provide a BEV choice even in the SUV market worldwide.
It will also bring the two companies closer to achieving their common goal of realizing a carbon-neutral society.
Commenting on the collaboration, both Suzuki President Toshihiro Suzuki, and Toyota President Koji Sato said the collaboration will help the companies deepen their relationship while supporting them to contribute towards creating a better society free of carbon pollution.
The shift towards electric vehicles
Since the reintroduction of electric vehicles by Tesla in 2003, many automakers have gradually shifted their attention to making vehicles that don’t use fossil fuel in a bid to get rid of carbon in the air.
An example is Hyundai’s IONIQ 5, which is the company’s first fully electric vehicle that recently integrated autonomous technology.
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