The Verso 1.6 D-4D compact MPV will be the first Toyota be equipped with an engine supplied by the BMW Group under a contract agreed by the manufacturers two years ago.
The addition of the 111bhp/83kW engine to the range early in 2014 will increase the number of powertrains available to Verso customers in the UK to four.
Didier Leroy, Senior Managing Officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, and President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe (TME), said: “At Toyota, we believe that tackling environmental challenges facing our industry will require more than one approach. Hybrid is at the core of our strategy towards sustainable mobility, but we also see a role for clean diesel in Europe.
“Working together with an industry leader like the BMW Group allows us to benefit from economies of scale to reduce development costs as well as improve our time-to-market.”
The R&D team at Toyota’s European technical centre in Belgium led the development of the Verso 1.6 D-4D, ensuring a seamless match between the engine and the Toyota transmission and electronics. At the same time they safeguarded the car’s established ride comfort and dynamic performance. This involved the development of a number of new components, including engine mounts, a dual-mass flywheel, a newgearbox housing and gearing and a stop/start system to further improve efficiency and reduce emissions.
Production of the Verso 1.6 D-4D will begin in January 2014 at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey’s Adapazari plant, the centre for all Verso manufacturing.
Sourcing diesel engines is one aspect of a wider collaboration between Toyota and the BMW Group, under which the companies have announced plans to: Co-develop a fuel cell system, Conduct a feasibility study for the joint development of a sports car platform, Work together on creating lightweight vehicle body technologies, Undertake joint research into lithium-air batteries.
