The evergreen Toyota Fortuner may soon be offered as a hybrid vehicle.
The popular manufacturer’s South African subsidiary confirmed that a semi-electric variant of the SUV is “on the cards” and as we speak, Toyota is busy with the product planning of a hybrid Fortuner and said it will first be of a mild-hybrid variety before going full-on hybrid.
In most applications, a mild-hybrid sees the fitment of a 12 to 48-volt electrical system alongside an integrated starter generator (ISG).
This configuration is capable of providing hybrid-specific features such as powering the car’s on-board gadgets while the petrol engine is turned off, and in certain cases, additional boost when accelerating from a standstill.
Toyota South Africa did not reveal the introduction timeline for the battery-assisted Fortuner, however, stating that this is something it will divulge in due course.
This announcement follows the exciting news of a hybrid Hilux also being in the works.
Toyota’s E-Four hybrid system
Toyota’s new-energy strategy
Toyota, the world’s number one car manufacturer by volume, has a different strategy than many of its competitors for the future of its products in the shift to a new-energy future.
Unlike other brands that are rushing head-first into battery-electric vehicles (BEV), Toyota believes that the future of motoring requires a wide variety of technologies and is not a one-size-fits-all approach.
As such, it is actively investigating multiple propulsion methods including hydrogen fuel cells, sustainable biofuels, and of course, batteries.
Currently, the Japanese manufacturer has one hydrogen-powered vehicle in its global portfolio in the form of the Mirai.
The Mirai is now in its second generation and is on sale in markets where hydrogen infrastructure has already been implemented, such as the UK and Japan.
Toyota Mirai
Biofuelsmeanwhile, are still in their infancy and thus far there has been no word from Toyota on when these liquids will realistically make it to market, or whether a vehicle will need special upgrades to be able to run on them.
Last but not least, batteries have been the most frequent new-energy technology to make it into Toyota cars, and while the manufacturer has only just launched its first battery-electric SUV in global markets, the bZ4Xit has heaps of mild-hybrid, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid cars on the market.
In South Africa alone, there’s the Corolla Cross, Corolla Hatch and Sedanand RAV4 all in hybrid configurations, with a RAV4 plug-in hybrid to join the ranks not too far in the future.
Moreover, the manufacturer confirmed that the bZ4X is “under study” for a local introduction.
Toyota does not yet have a set date at which it will stop producing petrol and diesel autos, stating that it will be determined by customer demands.
Therefore, many of the brand’s local fans will be delighted to know it’s still going to be a while before the reliable internal combustion motors we’ve come to associate Toyota with disappears from showroom floors.
