Japan's Toyota Motor and Suzuki Motor said on June 24 that the two companies will deepen cooperation in R&D and production in India.

Image credit: Toyota

Toyota and Suzuki signed a business alliance memorandum of understanding in 2017. Since then, the two companies have been combining Toyota's strengths in electrification technology and Suzuki's strengths in compact car technology to work together to produce and popularize electric vehicles.

Now, the two companies will start producing an all-new SUV model developed by Suzuki at Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) in August. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and TKM will sell the new models in India under the Suzuki and Toyota names, respectively. In addition, the two companies plan to export the model to markets other than India, such as Africa.

The new model sold in India will be equipped with a mild hybrid developed by Suzuki and a strong hybrid developed by Toyota. Through this partnership, Toyota and Suzuki will jointly leverage their respective strengths to provide customers with a wide range of vehicle electrification technologies, contributing to the acceleration of electrification and the realization of a carbon-neutral society in India.

By expanding their collaboration in India, Toyota and Suzuki will continue to work towards the "Make in India" initiative promoted by the Indian government and contribute to sustainable economic growth and the vision of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070.

Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota, said, "Suzuki has a long history in India and we are delighted to announce this SUV with Suzuki. Today, the automotive industry is facing the challenges of electrification, carbon neutrality and more. This challenge. By leveraging the respective strengths of Toyota and Suzuki to provide Indian customers with a variety of options, we hope to contribute to reducing CO2 emissions.”

Toshihiro Suzuki, President of Suzuki, said: "TKM's production of this new SUV can contribute to India's growth and provide customers with the environmentally friendly transportation they need. We recognize this is an important milestone in further deepening our collaboration in the future. We thank Toyota At the same time, we will explore new synergies and business opportunities through continued cooperation.”