The new Toyota Supra is a fast coupe worthy of a mythical badge and a position like its halo model.
The recall of Takata airbags has highlighted the fact that car brands share parts and technologies of their rivals.
The scandal, which affected a hundred million cars from more than 30 brands, highlighted the fact that Ferrari and BMW use the same airbag inflators as normal Hondas and Fords.
It’s anything that makes bright brochures, but sharing door locks, air conditioning equipment and windshield wiper motors between models has been a component of the industry for decades.
The first Lexus had Toyota logos on their windows, while Holden and Toyota shared complete models in a short-lived joint venture from 1987 to 1996.
Toyota’s Supra stores its engine and foundation with the BMW Z4. Image: Supplied Source: Supplied
Now sharing is fashionable. The newest Toyota Supra has “Made through BMW” on its frame board. The Supra is a “skin twin” with the BMW Z4 and has the chassis and engine of the German car.
The trend is not necessarily bad news for buyers. The two cars would not exist without the matchmaking load savings.
Family ties
Arguably, the Volkswagen Group is the form of a percentage of parts among a diverse diversity of brands.
The next Touareg SUV with V8 engine has a serious pedigree on the hood. The biturbo diesel is a fine-tuned edition of the Audi SQ7 and Bentley Bentayga engine.
Volkswagen’s Touareg stores parts with Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus. Image: Supplied Source: Supplied
Volkswagen stores much of its basic design with the Porsche Cayenne and Lamborghini Urus.
Big is beautiful
Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi have formed an alliance to jointly produce new cars and also have a “cooperation” with Daimler, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company.
The Renault Kadjar is a double under the skin of the Nissan Qashqai, as is the Nissan X-Trail and Renault Koleos. Suspension and floors are shared, while items seen by others (panels, dashboards and finishes) are custom-made.
The Nissan Qashqai and Renault Kadjar are necessarily the same car underneath. Photo: Thomas Wielecki Source: Supplied
While the Koleos and X-Trail have a percentage engine, the Kadjar has its own 1.3-liter Turbo Renault engine.
To entangle the Web, Renault’s four-cylinder bureaucracy is the basis of the one used in the upcoming Mercedes-Benz Class A, B-Class, CLA and GLA.
Maintaining character
Nissan Australia chief executive Stephen Lester said partnerships gain advantages for all parties.
“It’s bringing generation to market faster to take advantage of economies of scale and deliver the effects to the company.”
In many cases, buyers are not the wisest, but Lester says it is imperative that the logo maintains its identity.
“One of the hallmarks of the Nissan alliance is the importance of each logo retaining its distinctive DNA.”
Nissan and Renault are joined at the hip. Picture: Thomas Wielecki Source: Supplied
Dr. Abas Merzaei, a senior lecturer in branding and marketing at Macquarie University, says the excitement that comes from designing a car, internal and external, is more than the underlying parts.
“Brands learned that they had to do it in terms of logo, in terms of marketing, towards this customer’s logo, injecting more emotion and humanizing it.”
Stable companions
Hyundai and Kia, from the same parent company, also represent a giant percentage of components.
Engines, platforms and other parts are generously implemented on all models, even in the Genesis Group’s youngest luxury logo.
Hyundai’s Santa Fe features engines with the Kia Sorento. Image: Supplied Source: Supplied
Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento percentages of diesel and gasoline engines, while the Genesis G70 percentages of its 3.3-liter biturbo V6 with the Stinger.
Successes and failures
Mazda and Ford have been cooperating for years, recently with the BT-50 and Ranger utes, whose percentage of engines and come from the same Thai factory.
This courtship has deteriorated and the couple have discovered new partners for their next generations.
The next Ford Ranger will have engineering percentages and spare parts with the new Volkswagen Amarok, its external designs are expected to be very different.
Mazda, meanwhile, has turned to Isuzu and the upcoming BT-50 and D-Max utes will have the same Isuzu engine.
However, there is a limit to what the visitor will accept, as Mercedes-Benz has learned.
Its recently abandoned Ute X-Class was a resounding failure, as buyers have moved away from a Nissan-based vehicle.
The Mercedes-Benz X-Class, a Nissan Navara underneath. Image: supplied. Source: Supplied
Dr. Merzaei says there are limits.
“Economies of scale, around cost: those are all the motivations of brands to choose to share components,” says Dr. Merzaei.
“But at the end of the day, you have to be very careful with selecting to share components.”
Turn up the volume
Low-volume cars, such as sports cars, often focus parts with other brands just to raise numbers.
For a large-scale industry, promoting fewer than 50,000 copies of a style can be tricky.
Sit on the Abarth 124, for example, and you won’t want to be an enthusiast to spot similarities to the Mazda MX-5. Two percent a platform and an interior, Abarth has opted for its own engine and a bolder nose.
Abarth 124 SpiderSource 2018: Supplied
The Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ are identical.
The Audi TT stores a lot with an Audi A3, which in stock with the Volkswagen Golf and Skoda Octavia.
The mania for fusion
Mergers and acquisitions are widespread.
In the most recent, Fiat and Chrysler (FCA) partner with Peugeot, Citroen and Opel (PSA) to shape Stellantis.
The Italian brands of FCA, Fiat, Maserati and Alfa Romeo have already shared engines, platforms and more with Jeep, Chrysler and Ram.
Now Peugeot, Citroen and Opel have joined the family, opening up new odds to more love.
The challenge will be to find the right balance.
As automakers begin to adopt electric vehicles, expect the exchange to take you to the next level.
Electric motors describe a car as a gasoline engine and very few consumers will be interested in battery manufacturers.
Instead, it will be design, capacity and expanding connectivity that will separate a Tesla from an Audi, Porsche or Nissan.