Toyota Motor Europe (TME) said on Monday (2 December, 2013) the Turkish built Verso 1.6 D-4D compact MPV [minivan] would be its first model with an engine supplied by the BMW Group under a contract agreed by the manufacturers two years ago.
The new, 111bhp/83kW engine, available from early 2014, will increase the number of Verso powertrains to four – 1.6 and two litre diesel; 1.6 and 1.8 litre petrol, the latter also available with CVT automatic transmission.
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BMW uses the same engine in its own 1-series and Mini lines. Such collaboration is now common across the industry – Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz fits Renault diesel engines in its recently redesigned A- and B-Class models.
Sources told just-auto recently Toyota would also use a BMW four cylinder diesel in the popular Hilux pickup truck – a redesigned model is due to enter production in Thailand in the first half of 2015 – and that a diesel-electric powertrain is planned for some Lexus models.
TME chief Didier Leroy said: “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.”
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By GlobalDataEngineers at Toyota’s European technical centre in Belgium headed the development of the new engine, matching BMW engine to Toyota transmission and electronics while maintaining established ride comfort and dynamic performance. This involved the development of a number of new components, including engine mounts, a dual-mass flywheel, a new gearbox housing and gearing and a stop/start system to further improve efficiency and reduce emissions.
Production will begin in January 2014 at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey’s Adapazari plant which also makes the Corolla sedan for Europe, supplementing Auris hatchback and wagon production in England.
“More than 50% of this minivan sector is 1.6 litre diesel which we didn’t have,” TME R&D’s Gerald Killmann told Automotive News Europe.
Citing JATO data, ANE said Toyota this year had sold 29,303 Versos in Europe to the end of October. Renault sold 93,508 Scenics, Ford 84,441 C-Max and VW 76,867 Tourans, all of which are offered with 1.6 litrr diesels. The Scenic, C-Max and Touran were Europe’s three top selling compact minivans year to date.
Sourcing diesel engines is one aspect of a wider collaboration between Toyota and the BMW Group, under which the companies have announced plans to co-develop a fuel cell system, conduct a feasibility study for the joint development of a sports car platform, work on lightweight vehicle body technology and undertake joint research into lithium-air batteries.
