Toyota confirms that the Supra is here to stay as rumors about its future swirl with the potential demise of its platform mate the BMW Z4.
Toyota dismisses rumors that it’s killing the Supra as the model faces a new threat to its future from the potential axing of its platform-mate the BMW Z4.
The Toyota Supra is currently facing a slump in sales with the decrease in sales forcing Toyota to kill off the four-cylinder powered 2.0-liter model. However, despite these hiccups, the Supra continues to soldier on as the most potent performance offering for its GR lineup of performance vehicles. However, separate rumors surrounding the demise of its platform mate the BMW Z4 raised new questions about the Supra’s long-term future.
However, Toyota appears to have confirmed that the model will be sticking around for the forseeable future with a company official saying that the SUpra is not going anywhere even if the BMW Z4 blinks out of production in a sign that the company still believes in the Supra’s long-term prospects even in the face of ongoing sales challenges.
Toyota stands firm on Supra
The Supra and the Z4 are built in Austria at Magna Steyer’s plant in Austria.
The alleged confirmation appeared in a recent interview that Australian publication CarExpert had with Toyota Australia’s Vice President for Marketing and Sales Sean Hanley. Hanley’s response cut straight to the point with the exec saying “There is no plan to discontinue the Supra brand in this car company. I know that. BMW is not Toyota. The notion that Supra is stopping is purely speculative.”
That quote is interesting since the Z4 and the Supra are built by German firm Magna Steyer in Austria and BMW is in a favorable position in regards to its partnership with Toyota, especially if it chooses to kill the Z4 outright and thus deep-six its contract with the Japanese auto giant. BMW’s supposed desire to kill the Z4 is due to the same sales woes that plague the Supra but unlike that model, the Z4 also suffers from being a convertible-only model which further limits its appeal and forces it to target a small niche group of buyers with many of them preferring to move past the Bimmer into rivals like the Porsche 718 Boxster.
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What will Toyota do next?
Toyota could potentially make a next-generation model on a new platform or even expand the Supra name to other vehicle segments.
In the event that BMW does kill off the Z4, Toyota does have some options at its disposal. While it dying together with the Bimmer is one route, Toyota could also keep the nameplate alive with a next-generation model that would either be underpinned by a platform built entirely in-house or with the aid of another partner in the event BMW chooses to not participate.
Hanley also made mention of a possible “Supra brand” and also indicated that the Supra would morph and change its shape. This could indicate that the company is exploring models that would maintain the Supra nameplate but move beyond the coupe bodystyle that it’s known for and into other vehicle segments in an attempt to expand its sales reach. This would be a risky move for Toyota especially if you look a some of the pushback that Ford received when it introduced the Mustang Mach-E CUV which received blowback from Mustang loyalists. At the same time, other automakers are reportedly considering other versions of their iconic performance vehicles including Chevrolet, with that brand allegedly having internal discussions about a Corvette-branded SUV model which has generated a potent rumor mill in its own right..
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