Brands have been exchanging models with each other for years. Yet it is striking that not only Suzuki borrows models from Toyota, but Mazda is now also pulling a Toyota from the warehouse for a hybrid 2. Why do Suzuki and Mazda choose Toyota cars?
Our De Tweeling section illustrates how car manufacturers have been borrowing models from each other for years and then attaching their own logos and marketing them. Over the years, various Toyota models have also been sold under the flag of other car brands. Chevrolet approached Toyota for several models and Pontiac borrowed the Vibe de Voltz from that Japanese manufacturer for several models. More examples? Of course. For example, the Volkswagen Taro was secretly a Toyota Hilux and there are various models from Subaru and Daihatsu that have twin brothers and sisters at Toyota. The latter is less striking given the family ties. More surprising is the trend we are currently seeing in Europe.
Geo Prizm (Toyota Corolla)
Suzuki pulled the Across from the top hat in mid-2020, a car that, despite its somewhat own snout, was immediately recognizable as a Toyota RAV4. With the Across, Suzuki suddenly had a serious SUV with a plug-in hybrid powertrain on the European market without having to pay the price of the high development costs. The Across trick was good, as it turned out a few months after the introduction of Suzuki’s first plug-in hybrid SUV. Suzuki pulled the Corolla Touring Sports from Toyota’s warehouse and now sells that Toyota itself only with 1.8 Hybrid powertrain as Swace in Europe. The increasingly close cooperation between Suzuki and Toyota also works the other way. For example, Toyota sells the Suzuki Baleno in India as Glanza, in Africa as Starlet and here unknown Suzukis such as the Ertiga, Ciaz and Vitara Brezza are sold by Toyota successively as the Rumion, Belta and Urban Cruiser.
Toyota Starlet (Suzuki Baleno)
As mentioned, Suzuki is not the only manufacturer to supply Toyota cars in Europe. For example, Mazda proposed a new hybrid 2 purely for the European market, which will be placed in the showroom next to the already known Mazda 2. You don’t have to look twice to see that the European Mazda 2 Hybrid is nothing more than a Toyota Yaris with Mazda logos. It is not the first time that the Yaris and the 2 share the bed. For example, Toyota briefly sold a Yaris in the United States that was nothing more than the outgoing Mazda 2 generation with Toyota badges. Even the Mazda 2 Sedan was delivered as Toyota, albeit only in Canada and Mexico.
CO2 reduction and fear of fines
Why do Suzuki and Mazda turn to Toyota for new models? This has everything to do with the partnerships between the manufacturers, but especially with the ever stricter maximum CO2 emissions that the European Union imposes on car manufacturers. While the average fleet emissions of new cars sold in the EU per manufacturer was not allowed to exceed 135 grams of CO2 per kilometer, that limit has already been tightened to 95 grams per kilometer from 2020 onwards. Although 2020 still counted as a transition year, the limit of 95 grams has been valid for the full 100 percent since 2021. Please note, this is a fleet average, so it does not mean that every model has to be below 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
Automakers that don’t make it to the fleet average risk having to disastrously empty their wallets. For every gram of CO2 that exceeds the set limit of 95 grams, €95 is paid. Yes, per car that was sold in the EU by the relevant manufacturer that year. Without electrification assistance, it is virtually impossible for car manufacturers to meet the EU’s fleet average requirements, especially without electric models. Suzuki does not yet have an EV on the menu in Europe. Mazda currently only has one in the form of the MX-30 and therefore mainly sells non-electrified or mild-hybrid models. Toyota, which has a 5 percent interest in both Mazda and Suzuki, offers these manufacturers a lucrative way to reduce the CO2 average by adding a hybrid or plug-in hybrid of the brand to the European delivery range.
Mazda 2 (Toyota Yaris)
Although Mazda delivered the 2 briefly with M-Hybrid called mild-hybrid technology, the brand cut those mild-hybrid versions after a model year update in which the 1.5 SkyActiv-G was further finely ground from the menu. The Mazda 2 Skyactiv-G with manual transmission emitted 109 grams per kilometer after its modernization round, less than the 120 grams per kilometer of the M-Hybrid versions of the previous model year. The new Mazda 2 Hybrid, borrowed from Toyota, to be launched in the spring of 2022, will only be supplied with the 1.5 Hybrid powertrain. That 116 hp strong set of hardware and associated smart control units provides the ‘new Mazda 2’ with CO2 emissions of 87 to 92 grams per kilometer. The lowest value is achieved by the versions with 15-inch wheels, the higher value belongs to the Mazda 2 Hybrid on 16-inch slippers.
Suzuki Swace (Toyota Corolla TS)
Suzuki announced a proprietary hybrid powertrain that it will ship in 2022 in both the Vitara and S-Cross. With this, the brand hopes to further reduce its CO2 emissions. Mazda is in turn working on expanding the range of the MX-30, which will be launched next year with a rotary engine that functions as a range extender. Mazda will introduce a platform developed entirely for EVs in 2025 and the entire model range should be electrified by 2030. Electrified, so not entirely electric. In addition, Mazda will expand its European delivery range next year with two new SUVs, both of which will be available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain (but also with six-in-line petrol engines!).
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl