[bigron]

From what I understand, Toyota wants to be relevant in the small car segment in India.
A segment which Suzuki understand and rules.

India being one of the biggest small car markets, and Toyota unable to tap into it must have bothered Toyota at some point. What better way than to get into a JV with a manufacturer from the same country with the same work ethics and understanding but with a far greater penetration in the market. It also helps that the manufacturer is struggling with world wide sales and gave up on the US market back in 2012. World over Suzuki is know as a manufacturer of small cars.

On a global sceme of things, Toyota would share some EV/Hybrid technology/vehicles with Suzuki to help it in the European markets.

[sgiitk]

Interesting. Obviously Toyota has a far bigger stake. What are the synergies-Suzuki gets access to the mid size segment, Toyota gets the small car segment. More and more engine developments will come from Toyota.

Of course the EV/Hybrid market will be very interesting.

[sumeethaldankar]

Is this probably why Maruti is phasing out it's existing diesel engines? It may probably get all the diesel tech it wants from the big T.

[srini1785]

https://www.rushlane.com/toyota-buys...-12321982.html

It states that both companies would buy stakes in each other.

Reproduced here :
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To develop and promote a long-term partnership between both companies, Toyota and Suzuki intend to acquire each other’s shares, basis the ‘Alliance’. Toyota plans to acquire 24,000,000 shares of common stock in Suzuki (4.94 percent ownership of the total number of shares issued by Suzuki as of March 31, 2019 (excluding treasury shares) with a total value of JPY 96 billion) by underwriting the disposition of treasury shares by way of third-party allotment conducted by Suzuki.

Similarly, Suzuki plans to acquire, through purchase in the market, shares in Toyota equivalent to JPY 48 billion (half the amount which was paid by Toyota). Share acquisitions will be implemented once both companies obtain approvals from foreign competition authorities.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's some serious business jargon.

It talks about collaboration in autonomous driving and selling Alto as Toyota product in Africa. A 5% stake would not entitle a representation in the board which needs to approve tech transfers. Please correct me if wrong. Its a kind of security deposit i would assume. Probably the start of a beautiful friendship.

[Sebring]

Suzuki sends their Japan-made cars to the UAE, and they're too good. Better than Toyota Corolla and Yaris, I found. Brand Suzuki is strong in India and some parts of Africa, but Indians would like to see the T badge over it and won't miss this tiny carmaker even for a day.

[.HEM]

I would be happy, if Maruti and Toyota partnership goes forward like - Maruti manufacturing cars for less than 10 lakhs and the cars costing more than 10 lakhs to be manufactured by Toyota

This will be a win-win situation, when Maruti can still be No.1 car company by volumes and Toyota can be a premium brand as always.

[V.Narayan]

In addition to all the points made in earlier posts consolidation will be the route in the car industry if they players have to compete in tomorrows world with budget churning technological changes and the need to compete in the worlds largest car market - China.

This move bodes well for the Indian car market. It will make Maruti even more entrenched as the leader of the small to medium car segment.

[nsbhagwat]

Originally Posted by .HEM

I would be happy, if Maruti and Toyota partnership goes forward like - Maruti manufacturing cars for less than 10 lakhs and the cars costing more than 10 lakhs to be manufactured by Toyota

This will be a win-win situation, when Maruti can still be No.1 car company by volumes and Toyota can be a premium brand as always.

But the structural design for crash worthiness should be dictated by Toyota.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Sebring

but Indians would like to see the T badge over it and won't miss this tiny carmaker even for a day.

That statement is not true. The way Toyota operates is a lot different from Maruti Suzuki does. Having owned a car from both stables, I've seen quite a number of Etios twins owners (cab and private) complain on higher servicing costs from their perspective. An Innova-Fortuner-Corolla-Camry owner might find it acceptable on 2 million plus rupee car, but such perception won't do any good in budget segment. Parts too cost a bomb.

And in this market, brand perception drives sales a lot. That's the reason, both brands should be left independent in terms of operations as they are today.

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Is this probably why Maruti is phasing out it's existing diesel engines? It may probably get all the diesel tech it wants from the big T.

Diesel was never Toyota's forte, hybrid is. Even in a diesel heavy Italian market, I've seen Toyota's predominantly pushing cars in the hybrid avatar (Yaris, Auris, Rav4, Prius).

From Maruti's perspective, they want to divorce the Fiat relationship, hence the 1.5D

[Sebring]

Suzuki having lower service costs is no longer true. Toyota service offers a really superior experience, and since we have had cars from both stables have arrived at this conclusion (I would prefer a Glanza to Baleno, purely from service angle). Maybe this is peculiar to Karnataka.

Originally Posted by narayans80

That statement is not true. The way Toyota operates is a lot different from Maruti Suzuki does. Having owned a car from both stables, I've seen quite a number of Etios twins owners (cab and private) complain on higher servicing costs from their perspective.

[volkman10]

International outlook of the alliance.

Toyota and Suzuki Motor have more in common than it appears, as do the Toyoda and Suzuki families. The founders of both companies hail from Shizuoka Prefecture, in central Japan, and both automakers started out making looms.

Suzuki was told by his predecessor to seek help from Toyota when his company fell into serious trouble

The world's biggest automakers have tried partnering with Suzuki Motor Corp. over the years. First came General Motors, then Volkswagen. Now, it's Toyota's turn

Why are these global goliaths so interested in pint-sized Suzuki?

In one word: India.

The subcontinent is the world's No. 4 market and is on pace to supplant Japan as No. 3 behind China and the U.S

Odd couple

Outside India, Toyota and Suzuki might seem like an odd couple.

But even beyond India, Toyota will reap other benefits from teaming with Suzuki.

The first is a front-row look at how Suzuki engineers and produces low-cost vehicles for emerging markets. Those regions are expected to drive global sales growth in the coming decades, and Suzuki has largely cracked the code for selling quality econocars in them.

Suzuki also brings added scale

Toyota may have better luck. It has a track record of hands-off, loose cooperation with other automakers, notably Mazda, Subaru and Daihatsu. And as two Japanese companies headquartered outside the Tokyo region, Toyota and Suzuki share a mindset making them less prone to culture clash.
Link


Japanese media:
Suzuki Motor Chairman Osamu Suzuki will turn 90 in 2020, the same year the company celebrates its centennial.

For the past 20 years or so, Suzuki Motor Chairman Osamu Suzuki has been pondering the future of the carmaker he has led for four decades, striving for a vision of the company's next 100 years.

"I discount my age by 30%," Suzuki said. "I will retire when I become physically too weak, but I intend to keep working as long as I can. I can take as much paid vacation as I like after I die."

Suzuki Motor was rescued by Toyota twice.

1.When the company's forerunner, Suzukishiki Loom, was brought to the brink by a labor dispute in 1950, Toyota extended a loan.

2.In the 1970s, when Suzuki Motor had trouble meeting new emissions standards, Toyota's then-president, Eiji Toyoda, supplied Daihatsu engines to Suzuki, citing the need to maintain the health of the Japanese auto industry.

But the challenges posed by shifts in the auto industry, including the need to invest heavily in so-called CASE technologies -- connectivity, autonomy, sharing and electrification -- have sharpened competition in a way that will challenge even Suzuki's management acumen and this is where Suzuki's Chairman pins hope on Toyota.

Link

[dark.knight]

As a branding guy, nothing upsets me more when 2 completely different companies (in terms of ownership) collaborate and then "try to differentiate" their products to "seem" different, the result is a difference that is akin to Baleno and Glanza, Vento and Rapid (though this acquisition was made 25 years ago), Micra and Pulse etc etc. Not that there is anything wrong with that, as far as businesses go it even makes sound financial sense due to the lower R&D costs and higher platform sharing across factories, involved.

Japan is no longer the automobile powerhouse that it once was in the 80's until the late 90's, the South Koreans and Europeans are breathing down their neck and since the Japanese Kabushiki Kaisha (stock company) firms are bothered about their mutual Kabushiki values, they are all collaborating like never before to reduce their expenses and arrest sales downfall simultaneously.

Should we be bothered in the least? Nah. In the end people should buy what they like, the halo of branding is soon to fall and all that will remain is the product and ownership experience. Maruti will sell in India due to that and Toyota will also sell separately due to that. It is the marketing and branding teams that will be left in the darkness, wondering how to market a co-branded product with no differentiating USPs other than point percentage changes in pricing.

[bugatti]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Traditionally/culturally, the Japanese don't prefer to "give-in". My gut feeling is it will remain a strategic partnership & not a full acquisition. Suzuki while not as giant as Toyota has a great legacy. Its not some new player as such. So they'd want to keep their identity intact as independent. Let's see.

I agree that this will be a partnership- big brother/small brother. Suzuki will not want to be sold off to Toyota. Exception to this is if- there's a sudden crisis (financial or otherwise) at Suzuki (the chance of which are on the lower side right now). Suzuki is really well placed in India.

However, having said that, the next 10 years are a really difficult time for automakers. Not only here but around the world. It's becoming a smaller world in terms of consumption of goods like cars. Therefore, to survive, Suzuki, on its own, will have to chart its moves carefully. This transition to EVs will throw up many surprises, some of them, if caught on to too late, will cause some automakers to miss the bus and therefore be fatal.

[volkman10]

Toyota Motor-Suzuki Motor Corp minority stake deal approved.

The fair trade regulator said it has approved the minority stake purchase deal of Toyota Motor Corporation and Suzuki Motor Corporation.

The transaction involves acquisition of a "minority and insignificant shareholding" of 4.94 per cent by Toyota Motor in Suzuki Motor while Suzuki will hold approximately 0.24 per cent stake in the former

The fair trade regulator also said that the purpose of the proposed transaction is to "establish and promote a long-term partnership" between the two firms for future collaborations in new fields, including the autonomous driving filed.

Link