Toyota has acquired a 5.9 per cent stake in Isuzu Motors. The move, which makes it Isuzu’s third largest shareholder, appears designed to bolster Toyota’s diesel engine supply and R&D capacity, leaving it free to concentrate upon gasoline and – more pertinently – hybrid technology, in which it is now clear leader in the core North American hybrid passenger car market.

This does not appear to be an initial salvo in an all-out merger bid by Toyota. We’ve seen an internal memo that points to the possibility of a more formalised R&D relationship, but the retention of a competitive approach to the medium duty truck market. “Even if Isuzu ties the knot with Toyota on the technology side of the (diesel engine) business, we remain competitors in the market,” says the edict released by Isuzu’s Japanese HQ on the eve of the announcement.

The analysts view is a favourable one: "Toyota will be able to outsource diesel engines from Isuzu in Europe and the U.S,” said Goldman Sachs analyst Kunihiko Shiohara. “In addition, it will be able to establish competitive advantage in the market of pickup trucks, which is an important market in North America and emerging markets."

But, long term, there has to be a chance that Isuzu will supply at the lighter end – up to 18 tonnes – and Hino the heavier stuff. Hino has a nice new factory in Arkansas that could offer both badges across the different US market sectors, and we’ve often wondered why the Toyota subsidiary has never seemed to take Europe too seriously. Maybe that’s about to change.