BMW and Toyota teamed up almost ten years ago to develop battery technology. Later on, fuel cell technology was added and of course the joint development of the Supra and Z4. If it were up to BMW, there is a basis for much more.
In early 2013, it was announced that Toyota would supply fuel cell technology to BMW. That was, in a sense, an extension of an even earlier agreement; in 2011, both brands already joined forces to jointly develop lithium-ion batteries. In the end it went a step further when BMW and Toyota started working together on a new sports car. That resulted in the Toyota Supra and the BMW Z4. At the beginning of this year, more became clear about another fruit of the collaboration: a BMW X5 with fuel cell. The collaboration will continue into 2025, but BMW CEO Oliver Zipse now indicates that he can take it longer.
According to the German CEO, the cooperation with the Japanese is very satisfactory and more is possible than is already in the pipeline: “We would do well to further strengthen our ties for the coming decades”, says Reuters on. Zipse emphasizes that he still sees a lot of future in cars with fuel cells and Toyota could of course use that well. Zipse is also pleased with the joint development of sports cars for the longer term. The Toyota Supra uses BMW engines and stands on a jointly developed basis. However, according to Zipse, the question is what role sports cars will play in the BMW of the future. A hybrid powered ‘Z’ or even one with a fuel cell developed by Toyota? We shall see.