Toyota and Isuzu alliances good for Mazda

Mazda's alliances with Toyota and Isuzu, the latter for the development and production of the next generation of BT-50, will be good for the brand says company R&D boss Kiyoshi Fujiwara.

Speaking to Australian media today at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Fujiwara, Mazda's Director and Senior Executive Officer in charge of research and development, would not go into specifics about either tie-up but praised the company's new partners.

"Unfortunately I cannot say specific topics with the Toyota project, however, we are now continually exchanging cultures of the companies and exploring relationships," he told motoring.com.au.

Fujiwara cited work on vehicle refinement (NVH) as an example of how the two companies' technicians were already working together.

"Engineers have visited each company, looking at methods, at facilities and building the relationship. For now, we have gone from friends to fiancées," Fujiwara, one of the more gregarious of global R&D bosses joked…

At least that was the translation his interpreter delivered red-faced.

Fujiwara says Mazda and Toyota are exploring "up to ten areas" of cooperation, right up to and including completely shared vehicles. He nominated electrification and connectivity as the two key areas the companies were keen to maximise.
But he cautioned suggestions Mazda would simply bolt-in Toyota technology – in hybrids for example.

"Hybrid is difficult because Toyota's system is very complicated. If we can keep developing [the efficiency] of SKYACTIVE [Mazda's powertrain technology], we need only light or mild hybrid [solutions to meet emission targets]," he said.

In the same interview Fujiwara confirmed Mazda is working on its first EV, with a rotary range-extender version to boot. He suggested the production version of that technology could be sold to other companies.

In terms of the Isuzu hook-up, Fujiwara is equally positive – as you'd expect.

Mazda has a long association with Isuzu via its Japanese market commercial vehicles. He stated he had recently returned from Isuzu's Hokkaido development centre in Northern Japan.

"Our [global pick-up] sales volume is not huge and we simply cannot justify the cost to develop ourselves, so we searched for a partner. Let me say, I trust Isuzu's capability the same as I trusted Ford's in the past," Fujiwara said.

"I have just visited Hokkaido and talked to the Isuzu guys. We have given them our requirements, so they can develop [the new BT-50].

"BT50 is our product, under our brand structure, our brand image… and under our Kodo design [language]. [But] We have a very good relationship [with Isuzu] and they can deliver," he stated.