Japanese automotive manufacturers work together develop new engines, viz Toyota, Subaru and Mazda announced a collaboration to preserve the internal combustion engine by developing a new generation of clean, efficient powertrains.
Launching Carscoops, Thursday (30/5/2024), rather than pursuing the same series of engines, each company will focus on the type of powertrain while sharing technology. It is known that Toyota owns around a fifth of Subaru’s shares and around 5% of Mazda’s shares.
“As we continue to perfect electrification technology, we will also perfect horizontally opposed engines with the aim of using carbon neutral fuels in the future. “Going forward, these three companies who share the same aspirations will continue to advance efforts to achieve sustainable excellence in Japanese auto manufacturing,” said Subaru President and CEO, Atsushi Osaki.
This new generation of powertrain is purposely designed for electrification, with a more compact size and compatibility with a wide range of carbon neutral fuels. This is in line with decarbonization.
Toyota, Subaru and Mazda emphasized that they will remain competitors in the product arena by offering unique engines and cars. However, they agree, carbon is the enemy and will collaborate to expand existing options.
In this context, each company will develop its signature powertrain, namely a boxer engine for Subaru, an inline-four engine for Toyota, and a rotary engine for Mazda. This is to meet the needs of their diverse customer base.
The company will optimize the integration of electric drive units in the respective powertrains, resulting in a new hybrid generation. Carbon neutrality will also be achieved by moving away from fossil fuels and focusing on alternative solutions such as e-fuels, biofuels and liquid hydrogen, which have already been tested in racing.
The new combustion engine is described as highly efficient and powerful. The size will also be smaller.
