Toyota planning to increase stake in Subaru

Toyota’s grip around Subaru is set to get tighter with news coming out of Japan claiming the auto giant is planning to increase its 8.7% stake in Subaru to around 17%. The final decision will depend on whether or not the move gets approval from Japan's Fair Trade Commission.

The transaction involves Toyota buying another 64.25 million shares in Subaru, which will cost about ¥30 billion ($294.4 million), reports the Nikkei. The source also claims both carmakers are working to collaborate across several areas including the development of a new RWD sports car.

Back in November Toyota’s German Chief Markus Schrick confirmed Toyota was working on several new sports cars including a replacement for the Celica, and several Japanese sources claimed the car will be the result of collaboration between Toyota and Subaru. The two carmakers have been sharing production facilities and swapping engineers ever since Toyota bought a stake in Subaru early last year, and now the partnership is set to spawn the first co-developed model. You can read more about the new RWD sports car in our previous story by clicking here.