BMW, the world’s largest maker of luxury vehicles, will supply Toyota Motor Corp with 1.6 liter and 2 liter diesel engines for the Japanese company’s models in Europe starting in 2014, the automakers said in a statement in Tokyo yesterday. The two carmakers also agreed to jointly research next-generation lithium-ion battery technologies, according to the statement.
For Toyota, the agreement allows Asia’s largest carmaker to expand its European lineup of diesel-powered vehicles. For BMW, the partnership paves the way for the company to team up with the biggest producer of hybrid vehicles.
“It is positive for BMW to expand its range of partners among mass-market carmakers,” said Daniel Schwarz, an analyst with Commerzbank in Frankfurt. “One of the problems for premium manufacturers is generating scale for environmental technology, and this will help.”
Photo: EPA
Toyota, which counted Europe for 12 percent of its volume sales last fiscal year, and Ford Motor Co, in August announced a plan to jointly develop a hybrid system for pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles as US fuel-economy rules tighten.
Toyota is also working with US electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc on a battery-powered version of the Toyota RAV4 sport-utility vehicle that will go on sale next year.
BMW cooperates with PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe’s second--largest carmaker, on hybrid technology and engines for the Mini brand.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
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