Isuzu and Toyota freeze clean diesel engine project
Isuzu Motors Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp., both of Japan, have frozen their joint development of a small-sized diesel engine to prioritize cost cuts and ride out the global economic slump, Isuzu President Susumu Hosoi said. The two Japanese carmakers were planning to start production of the “clean diesel engine” around 2012 for Toyota’s small passenger cars for the European market. The plan was to take advantage of Isuzu’s diesel technologies to develop an engine with environmentally friendly features, including a system that removes harmful substances in exhaust gases. (December 16, 2008)