Changing Strategic Landscape: Coopetition between Toyota and Suzuki

 

Very recently the country's largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki Limited is preparing its own version of the best-selling multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) in the country, Toyota's Innova i.e., Suzuki Invicto. A few years back , Toyota launched the "Toyota Glanza", which is essentially a rebadged Maruti Suzuki Baleno. 

It was a part of the Toyota – Suzuki Collaboration to leverage each other's products to multiply their sales.

While the Toyota wants to leverage Maruti's best-selling products to increase its sales in the Indian 

market by launching Toyota Glanza, at the same time, Maruti Suzuki is using Toyota's ace MPV "Innova" to leverage on the popularity of Innova to boost its sales of Suzuki Invicto.

From the above, it is evident that both the competitors in the passenger vehicle segment have 

collaborated to form a strategic alliance, which has helped both the companies in increasing their sales. 

In the ever-changing business landscape, strategic alliance in the form of Coopetition (Competition+ 

collaboration) has helped businesses to sustain and weather out market adversaries.

Reasons for competitors to cooperate. 

1. Costs saving and avoiding duplication of effort.

2. Neither party has a special sauce, but the parties' combined ingredients create value.

3. Both parties have a special sauce, and when put together places them ahead of their common 

competitor.

4. One party has a strong competitive advantage, and sharing only heightens it; even so, less-

powerful parties are willing to cooperate.

5. One party shares its secret sauce to reach another's customer base, even though doing so 

carries risks for both parties.

Coopetition strategies by both the vehicle manufacturers

➢ Suzuki and Toyota had signed a memorandum of understanding for a business alliance in 2017 to 

build a long-term partnership and to promote collaboration in new fields, including autonomous 

driving.

➢ Since then, they have been bringing together Toyota's strength in electrification technologies and 

Suzuki's technologies for compact vehicles for collaboration in production and in the widespread 

popularization of electrified vehicles (EVs).

➢ On March 20, 2019, both the companies announced that they would engage in joint product 

development and collaboration in production.

Developing the mutual supply of products by bringing together Suzuki's strength in technologies for small vehicles and Toyota's strength in electrification technologies.

➢ With Toyota supplying its hybrid systems to Suzuki, both the Japanese carmakers will also make a big stride for hybrid electric vehicles in the country,

➢ Cooperation to develop a new Toyota C-segment MPV (Invicto) which will be supplied to Suzuki.

Toyota wants to leverage Maruti's best-selling products to increase its sales in the Indian market. 

However, this time around, Maruti Suzuki is using Toyota's ace MPV Innova.

➢ The upcoming Maruti MPV (Suzuki Invicto) will be placed at the top of its line-up and will likely be 

sold at Maruti's premium Nexa outlets. The Maruti Suzuki Invicto gets the same engine and 

transmission as the Toyota Innova Hycross.

➢ Maruti Suzuki to get 10000 units of Invicto (rebadged Innova Hycross) from Toyota each year.

Coopetitive Strategy on Green Mobility

➢ The two companies offer a wide variety of vehicle electrification technologies to customers and the realization of a carbon-neutral society in India.

➢ By leveraging the mutual strengths of Toyota and Suzuki to provide Indian customers with options 

of green mobility, reduction of CO2 emissions and realizing the sustainability goals of the country.