Toyota and Isuzu stall European diesel engine venture
Diesel engines are super popular over in Europe and every auto manufacturer that truly wants to play ball there needs to offer world-class oil-burners. Despite this undeniable fact, Toyota has requested a temporary suspension on its joint venture with Isuzu to create small diesels for the EU market. The first expected engine was to displace 1.6-liters and was to be made from aluminum to cut down weight. These small engines were supposed to make their first appearance in 2012, so perhaps there is still time to restart the venture if the global economy picks up a bit of steam. Isuzu might not be too upset that Toyota wants to temporarily suspend the project, as it has already chosen to freeze all projects that were not already officially underway. One of Isuzu's largest customers is General Motors, which uses large diesel engines jointly developed with Isuzu in all of its Duramax-equipped vehicles. Rumors that Isuzu would be taking GM's medium-duty truck operations are also completely dead.
[Source: AFP via Google]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
G-Meister 2:14PM (12/18/2008)
GM's down-turn really doesn't affect Isuzu's outlook that much- sometime fairly soon, GM will take control of the Duramax venture entirely.
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