Toyota, Suzuki say
exploring possible partnership
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[October 12, 2016]
TOKYO
(Reuters) - Japan's Toyota Motor Corp and minivehicle maker Suzuki Motor
Corp said they plan to explore a possible partnership, citing
technological challenges and the need to keep pace with rising
consolidation in the global auto industry.
The announcement comes after Toyota completed a buyout of minivehicles
maker Daihatsu Motors earlier this year. The world's largest automaker
by vehicle sales in 2015 said last week it will set up an internal
company with Daihatsu to focus on emerging markets.
Suzuki, Japan's fourth-largest automaker, also specializes in
minivehicles and competes fiercely with Daihatsu in the domestic market.
Both Daihatsu and Suzuki manufacture and market cars in emerging Asian
countries, with Suzuki dominating the Indian market through its majority
stake in Maruti Suzuki India Ltd <MRTI.NS>, while Daihatsu has been
expanding in Malaysia and Indonesia through separate joint ventures.
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In a joint statement Toyota and Suzuki said there was need for increased
industry cooperation to keep pace with rapid changes in the global auto
industry, where automakers and technology companies are competing to
develop self-driving cars and new mobility services.
"In addition to the R&D which each company is working on individually,
it is very important now to have partners who share the same goal and
passion," Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in the statement.
The two companies said that Suzuki was "increasingly feeling a sense of
uncertainty" in the face of rapidly developing new technologies, while
Toyota acknowledged it "may be behind competitors in North America and
Europe when it comes to the establishment of standardizations and
partnership with other companies."
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![](../images/101216pics/busine67.jpg)
Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda (L) shakes hands with Suzuki
Motor Chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki at their joint news conference
in Tokyo, Japan, October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
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The companies said they would hold a joint briefing on the possible
partnership in Tokyo at 0930 GMT. A Toyota spokeswoman declined to give
details on the agreement.
Both companies said that they had just begun exploring possibilities for
a partnership, and added that they would continue to compete with each
other and would be open to collaborating with other companies.
A partnership between Toyota and Suzuki would be the latest in a
consolidating auto industry. Nissan Motor Co. <7201.T> in May announced
it was planning to take a controlling stake in embattled Mitsubishi
Motors Corp.
(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Stephen Coates and Muralikumar
Anantharaman)
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