Electric Hilux possible, electric world …?

 Batteries could be included for a New Zealand favourite but don’t imagine every future Toyota will go that way, the brand says.

bz4x previews toyota’s first fully electric car, out next year. But it doesn’t mean every future Toyota will power play this way.

TOYOTA has fired up focus on the potential for a New Zealand market icon, the Hilux, being battery-driven yet also suggested a fully electric driving world is improbable.

The matters have been addressed by Toyota Australia, which has acknowledged that the push to add hybrid or pure electric power to all models could eventually see the introduction of a battery-compelled version of the top-selling one-tonne ute. 

Additionally, however, the distributor has spoken stridently in suggesting not every vehicle on the planet can ever switch to pure electric power, primarily because this transition would simply shift the problem from tailpipes to power stations.

This viewpoint has spurred Toyota New Zealand to say that it’s a reminder that each country has its own challenges and that our neighbour’s are different to our own.

Says TNZ chief executive Neeraj Lala: “The challenge for Australia and TMCA (Toyota Motor Corporation Australia) is that in transitioning to BEV a large proportion of their electricity is generated by fossil fuels hence the commentary on shifting the problem.”

In comment on Tuesday, a day after the home office of the world’s biggest car maker unveiled the pure-electric BZ4X, a RAV4-sized and styled model that has been confirmed for New Zealand availability from 2022, the Australian operation’s sales and marketing boss contended: “Despite this week’s focus on (pure-electric cars), we cannot achieve carbon neutrality simply by turning all our cars into (pure-electric vehicles).”

The statement from Sean Hanley is potentially a litmus paper to electric vehicle supporters who hold belief there is no reason why New Zealand should not stop the sale of new fossil fuelled vehicles by 2035, as proposed by a Government study, and wholly embrace a mains-fed future.

On this, Lala says: “That is an issue at the source of electricity generation for Australia (albeit it a far smaller issue here in NZ) … we have our own challenges and need to continue to work with the Government and relevant industries to continue our transition to a low emission vehicle fleet in NZ.”

The new car market leader concurs with a view also put by the Australians – namely, that the world of tomorrow will be better served by a choice of future vehicle technologies.

To that end, Toyota says over the next decade it will expand its choice of technology – beyond petrol and diesel vehicles – by introducing more hybrid, plug-in hybrid, pure-electric, and hydrogen models.

A fully electric Hilux? Never say never, apparently.

Lala offered that because each country has its own unique challenges in considering models in their market including powertrains and electrification “…the Toyota global view has been to not focus on just one but multiple powertrain options so countries and customers can have a variety of low emission options that suit them.

“As the technologies advance, there is a likelihood that electrified models will span across our whole model range (this is our longer term objective) and if these are developed and introduced as HEV, PHEV or BEV has a dependency on how mature the market is and what benefits the power train can offer the customers in that market.”

While not responding directly to the concept of a battery Hilux, he offered this view. “ … NZ customers want more rugged utes that can go off-road, tow and carry loads so a BEV option would need the support of charging infrastructure in both urban and rural/remote locations to be practical for our customers.” 

The idea of an electric ute fits in with contention from Toyota’s agency in the United States, which this week let slip that pick-up trucks it sells will take this form of propulsion.

The timing is anyone’s guess. Having previously said it wanted to have battery-influenced versions of every important car it makes in circulation by 2025, Toyota Japan this week pushed out that timeframe to 2030.

Also, while Toyota has said a Hilux EV could happen, it also says that it might be a decade before we see it. In the interim, then, a hybrid option could still be in the more immediate future.

The thought out of Australia about the purely battery-fed Hilux has come with a caveat about the need for such a vehicle to be up to surviving Australia’s tough conditions.

However, when asked about the imminent arrival of electric versions of the Tesla Cybertruck, Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado in the US – and the possibility of a Toyota rival – Toyota Australia executives reportedly said an electric Hilux could not be ruled out.

The CarAdvice website has quoted the senior product planner for Toyota Australia, Rod Ferguson, as saying: “We have not ruled out a pure-electric Hilux” and, though such a vehicle would “definitely be a challenge, but until we get to point where we say we can’t do it, we will explore every option”. 

Advancements in battery systems could one day make an electric heavy-duty ute possible, Ferguson said.

bz4x is RAV4-sized, but will it compete directly with the popular sports utility?

“We need to consider the packaging and changing platforms (vehicle architecture). We haven’t ruled it out.”

In respect to the idea of an utterly electric driving world, Toyota Australia’s executives are not so sure.

According to Hanley: “One-quarter of the world’s CO2 emissions today come from electricity generation. Even by 2040, more than half the world’s electricity is expected to be generated by fossil fuels.”

“Therefore, if all cars were to become (pure-electric vehicles), the demand for electricity would increase and carbon neutrality could be a long way off.

“We simply cannot achieve carbon neutrality by only producing electric vehicles,” said Hanley, especially as “more than half the electricity generated by 2040 will still be powered by fossil fuels. 

“In the end, the main driver of electrification (of vehicles) will be … the consumer,” said Hanley, adding that Australians have a “broad use” of vehicles and a vast range of demands, from rural and city use to mining and off-road driving.

“Our vehicles must be fit for purpose. There’s no point bringing a car to market if it can’t do what consumers want.”

Toyota's full electric a 2022 release here

Shanghai concept is a pointer to a breakthrough model set to sell alongside a swathe of hybrids.

A PRODUCTION variant of a fully electric Toyota concept revealed in China today will release in New Zealand next year, with sister models to follow.

The BZ4X styling study Toyota Japan has revealed at the Shanghai Motor Show has been described as being a “hero” of a global electrification future that will deliver 70 models globally by 2025. 

It’s similar in shape and size to the RAV4 crossover but lower, with a longer wheelbase and sharper styling. From the outside, the concept captures the ethos of bold, futuristic EV looks; the interior … erm, less so. A large touchscreen extends up out of the centre console, which has a rotary shifter placed in the middle and storage underneath.

Shorthand for ‘Beyond Zero’, a catchphrase chosen to highlight the corporate direction, BZ will present as a sub-group of seven fully electric models, with the BZ4X first into production.

Toyota hasn't said anything about battery size or range for this model, the first to use the new e-TNGA electric car platform, which will also underpin product from Subaru, which co-funded and co-engineered the underpinning.

The showroom-ready example is not expected to be much different to the concept, save for perhaps for losing some exotic details. An orthodox steering wheel will likely replace the yoke-style item on the styling study, regardless that Tesla has introduced the latter for its latest version of the Model 3.

TNZ chief executive Neeraj Lala says NZ will take these cars, and he expects them to be well received, though he has also expressed thought it might be some time before these full electrics outsell the hybrid choices it already has here in abundance and will add to.

Comment released today also leaves impression any expectation of the wholly electric fare being priced for mass appeal is probably mis-judged.

With today’s announcements, Toyota has taken to label everything it produces that has a battery-involved impetus as being  an ‘electrification vehicle.’

 This self-concocted descriptive seems to have been created to leave impression its hybrids are of similar calibre as electric cars, though by definition they are not, as an express qualification for electric status vis an ability to enable a mains-replenishment ability.

However, the new label certainly enforces that Japan’s No.1 is the world’s biggest player in electric-assisted drivetrain production, with more hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles to come. Interestingly, according to Toyota US (but not mentioned by Toyota NZ) this reach will include the pickup truck line-up in the near future, including hybrid and BEV powertrains. Does Hilux qualify as a ‘pickup’, or do they mean the larger Tundra?

Lala says Beyond Zero means a variety of options for Kiwis.  

“The Beyond Zero (BZ) range will be introduced in New Zealand to strengthen our range of electrified vehicles and achieve affordable mobility for all.”

“As a company committed to mobility for all, our priority is to offer affordable vehicles that meet the needs of all New Zealanders. This means a range of powertrain options to suit consumer needs,” says Lala.  
 
“Like hybrid technology 30 years ago, adoption and affordability will take some time. This will allow time for infrastructure, technical training and servicing to prepare itself for accelerated demand and lower cost alternatives.”
 
“BEVs will eventually become a sustainable means of mobility. However, it will take time as the energy mix, battery technology and infrastructure are still being developed,” Lala says.

Currently the cheapest full electric car offered in NZ is an MG, at just under $50,000. Expectation that Toyota’s status as the world’s most largest car producer will allow it to significantly reduce that premium seems overly optimistic, however.

Says Lala in respect to this: “As there is significant research and development cost recovery on new technology, this first Toyota BEV for New Zealand will not be an affordable BEV for all Kiwi households and businesses. 

“Our focus will also be on how we can transition BZ4X into the used vehicle market as quickly as possible so all Kiwis can become familiar and enjoy this new technology in an affordable manner. This is why we see affordable hybrids and plug-in hybrids as transitional technology and a bridge to a sustainable, low emissions future.

“Adding our first battery electric vehicle (BEV) to our range, continues our journey of offering powertrain choices for customers while helping New Zealand realise a zero-carbon future.”
 
“Toyota has been vocal in our support of the New Zealand Government as we transition to a low emissions economy and we’re excited at the prospect of bringing Toyota’s first pure battery electric car to New Zealand next year,” Lala says.
 
“Currently Toyota New Zealand’s average CO2 emissions sit at 165.9g/km which is almost 7 grams lower than the industry average. We are focused on introducing balanced, lower emission products to our range.”