Yamaha rushes to develop engines as client Toyota makes e-vehicle push

Hidaka said the know-how that Yamaha acquires from working with Toyota can be used in its own electrification shift

Yamaha Motor Co. is rushing to develop engines for hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles as key customer and shareholder Toyota Motor Corp. accelerates a push into electrified powertrains.

Yamaha needs to be able to provide those engines more quickly, at a lower cost, and to a higher level of quality than Toyota can do in-house if it’s going to remain as a supplier, Yoshihiro Hidaka, Yamaha’s new chief executive officer, said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Iwata, central Japan. Yamaha has supplied high-performance internal-combustion engines for Toyota since 1967’s iconic 2000GT sports coupe.

“I have a sense