There have been contrasting reports that the Mazda Motor Corporation will introduce a mid-size hybrid vehicle based on core components supplied by Toyota.
According to reports in the Nikkei, the vehicle could be introduced as early as 2013 after the two manufacturers reached a final agreement for Toyota to supply the Hybrid System II, which comprises a high capacity battery along with an electric motor, a power control unit and a generator. The system, which is ideal for use with an engine of two litres or less, is currently employed in the Toyota Prius.
The report continues that the hybrid systems for Mazda will be supplied by the Toyota group parts manufacturers at a rate of tens of thousands of units a year with Mazda to combine the components with a petrol engine and create a hybrid version of one of its existing midsize passenger cars. It also suggests that the agreement comes after negotiations began last year and that Mazda will be the first company outside the Toyota group to receive such large scale supplies of core components.
However, Bloomberg reports that Toyota is denying the Nikkei reports and quotes Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco as stating that “nothing has been decided”.
