豐田將與鈴木結成商業聯盟
The sprawling Toyota family is expanding yet again.
枝葉繁茂的豐田(Toyota)家族將再次迎來擴張。
Toyota, Japan’s biggest carmaker, said it will explore a business tie-up with smaller rival Suzuki to develop next-generation technologies.
日本最大汽車製造商豐田表示，將探索與規模較小的競爭對手鈴木(Suzuki)結成商業聯盟，共同開發下一代技術。
Japan’s car industry has seen a wave of alliances in recent years as companies grapple with rising costs of developing fuel-efficient vehicles and new technologies such as autonomous driving, writes Kana Inagaki.
隨着各家車企努力應對開發省油車輛和自動駕駛等新技術帶來的成本攀升問題，日本汽車業近年來出現了一波結盟潮。
Toyota already has capital ties with Daihatsu, Hino and Subaru maker Fuji Heavy. Its latest agreement with Suzuki will likely be similar to the partnership Toyota struck with Mazda last year that does not involve capital ties.
豐田之前已與大發(Daihatsu)、日野(Hino)以及斯巴魯(Subaru)的生產商富士重工(Fuji Heavy)建立了資本聯繫。其與鈴木的這一最新協議，很可能將類似於去年其與馬自達(Mazda)達成的合作，而不涉及資本聯繫。
The two companies are scheduled to hold a press conference later this evening in Tokyo.
豐田和鈴木計劃今晚晚些時候在東京舉行新聞發佈會。
Suzuki, Japan’s fourth largest carmaker with a focus on small cars, formed a partnership with Volkswagen in 2009, but that was followed by an acrimonious split only two years later. Its sales are strong in India, where its Maruti Suzuki affiliate controls about half of the market, but analysts have said the company will need to find a partner to adapt to the industry shift towards the electrification of cars.
鈴木是日本第四大汽車製造商，專注於生產小型汽車，2009年曾與大衆汽車(Volkswagen)結成合作夥伴，但僅兩年後雙方就不歡而散。鈴木在印度銷售強勁，其子公司馬魯蒂鈴木(Maruti Suzuki)控制了當地約一半的市場，但分析師表示，鈴木需要找到一個合作伙伴，以適應該行業向汽車電氣化的轉變。
