Citing growing uncertainty over market demand for the vehicles, Toyota Motor Corp. has called off an18-month-old joint venture to develop a 1.6-liter diesel engine for passenger cars with diesel specialist Isuzu Motors.
The Toyota-Isuzu diesel project, announced in June, 2007, was a direct response to Honda Motor Co.'s earlier announcement that it was developing a diesel for its passenger cars and would introduce it in the U.S. and Japan in 2009.
Honda earlier this year put its U.S. diesel plans on hold because the price gap here between diesel fuel and gasoline has erased the more expensive diesel engine's fuel efficiency cost advantage.
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