Toyota South Africa has confirmed that its Fortuner SUV and Hilux pickup truck will receive the hybrid treatment. While details are scarce, Leon Theron, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Toyota South Africa, confirmed that the two models will have mild hybrid powertrains globally in 2024.
- The next generation Fortuner, Hilux will be based on the TNGA-F platform
- Toyota is likely to hybridize the current 2.8-liter diesel engine
The current generation Fortuner and Hilux have been on sale for a while and are based on the old IMV platform. The upcoming Fortuner and Hilux will likely be based on Toyota's advanced TNGA-F platform which also underpins the Tacoma, Land Cruiser 300 and Lexus LX500d. The TNGA-F platform can include ICE engines and hybrid engines.
Yoshiki Konishi, Head of Engineering and Manufacturing at Toyota Daihatsu, confirmed that the next generation Toyota Fortuner will have a hybrid powertrain. While the Fortuner hybrid will debut globally next year, there is no clarity on when it will launch in India.
Toyota is choosing a hybrid system for both models because it believes electric cars are not the only option towards carbon neutrality. While it showed off a BEV version of the Hilux, dubbed the Hilux Revo BEV at its Carbon Neutral Summit earlier this year, it won't be the Hilux's only alternative fuel option.
Toyota Fortuner Hybrid, Hilux hybrid expected powertrain
While the exact details of the hybrid powertrain haven't been revealed yet, Toyota will likely electrify the existing powertrains for the hybrid versions of the Fortuner and Hilux. Expect to get a 2.8-liter turbocharged diesel engine producing 204hp and 500Nm to be paired with a mild hybrid system. It remains to be seen if Toyota will release a plug-in hybrid version of the Fortuner and Hilux in the future.
It remains to be seen if Toyota will launch the two hybrid models in India, and is currently working to shorten the waiting period for the Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Innova Hycross, and the reintroduced Innova Crysta.
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