Toyota And Suzuki Could Become Buddies

2017 Toyota Corolla (Credit: © Toyota)

We have entered a new era of automaker partnerships. The latest potential matchup is Toyota and Suzuki. Surprised? If you know anything about the two Japanese companies, you should be. They’re like mortal enemies in their domestic market, even though Suzuki is out of the passenger vehicles game here in the US.

Automotive website Driving broke this shocking news. Apparently, rapidly changing technology is driving this courtship. Autonomous drive systems, electrification, onboard entertainment, connectivity and more is evolving quickly in vehicles. More tech companies are trying to break into the market, like Apple, Microsoft and Google. You could even argue Tesla acts more like a tech startup than an automaker.

Instead of joining forces with some tech giant, Toyota is looking to buddy up with other automakers. It just bought out Daihatsu a few months ago, and there could be a growing relationship between it, BMW, Mazda, Isuzu and Subaru. Basically, the industry won’t be recognizable in ten or twenty years, because of mergers and alliances.