If you’re anything like us, your parents taught you the virtues of sharing with your friends when you have something nice. Clearly, Mazda Mexico CEO Keishi Egawa’s mama done raised him right, as he told Automotive News that the company will be utilizing their SKYACTIV® engine in a new subcompact produced by Toyota.
It’s entirely possible that the SKYACTIV Toyota will be the automaker’s replacement for the Yaris and something akin to the Mazda2—possibly even similar to the HAZUMI Concept from Geneva that is, in all likelihood, the next-gen version of Mazda’s popular subcompact.
“They will make model-specific investment for the Toyota vehicle,” Egawa told Automotive News in an interview conducted at the opening ceremony for Mazda’s new Mexico plant. He noted that the vehicle will be an entirely Toyota-created vehicle, only that it will use the automaker’s popular engine.
The Salamanca, Mexico plant will accommodate 50,000 of the SKYACTIV Toyota vehicles between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016. Toyota is no stranger to sharing platforms with other automakers: the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ share an engine and similar body styling, and Toyota and BMW are reportedly working together on what may very well be (sigh) our long-awaited Supra replacement.
Would you be interested in buying a SKYACTIV Toyota subcompact, or do you think Toyota should be focusing their efforts on other pursuits?
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