Mild-hybrid power coming to Toyota Hilux and Fortuner in 2024

Toyota South Africa Motors has confirmed that the much reported mild-hybrid version of the Fortuner won’t only become a reality, but will become available locally next year.

Electrified power

First mentioned as happening in Thailand two years ago, the excepted setup will see the current 2.8 GD-6 turbodiesel engine being paired with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that could result in a power and torque bump over the 150kW/500Nm made by models fitted with the six-speed automatic gearbox.

As a reminder, the latter figure drops to 420 Nm when specified with the six-speed manual ‘box, which could potentially also increase should the 48-volt belt/starter generator receive approval.

The announcement didn’t specify though whether the electrified powertrain would be debut in the newly updated Fortuner, or the next generation reported last year as becoming a reality in 2023.

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In confirming the mild-hybrid switch at a business breakfast on Tuesday (9 May), Toyota South Africa Motors Senior Vice-President of Sales and Marketing, Leon Theron, also revealed that the 48-volt setup will be present on the Hilux, which could potentially be the last significant mechanical overhaul the current generation will benefit form before its replacement debuts in 2025.

Despite it being reported as far back as 2018 that the Hilux could be offered with a six-cylinder engine in the shape of the 3.3-litre turbodiesel V6 from the Land Cruiser 300, the inclusion of the mild-hybrid is expected to compensate for the absence of the V6 speculation at the time said would produce as much as 230kW/687Nm in on-again, off-again GR Hilux.

As a reminder, the Hilux GR Sport currently tops the local line-up with outputs of 165kW/550Nm from its upgraded 2.8-litre mill.

Complete EV has sometime to go

In addition to the mild-hybrid, Theron also remarked that a fully electric version of the Hilux is being looked into, but admitted that the process is being made difficult as a result of the battery pack itself.

While the automaker showcased a battery electric powered Hilux in Thailand last year as nothing but a prototype, Theron stated that the eventual production model is still some way off and unlikely to become a mass-market entity within the next 12 months at least.

The question of a stout “junior Hilux”

Perhaps the biggest hint was the feasibility study currently being conducted into the availability of a new half-ton bakkie below the Hilux.

Despite it being revealed last year that Toyota had submitted a trademark application for the Stout name in Argentina, which it remained tight-lipped on, speculation has been growing based on not only the market success of the Ford Maverick in North America, but also the segment’s renewed importance as evident by the Hyundai Santa Cruz and soon, the pair of Ram 1200/Dakota models.

In an interview with MotorTrend last year, Toyota President for North America, Bob Carter, admitted that a smaller offering below the Hilux’s North American twin, the Tacoma, is being looked into as the latter had become bigger since splitting from the Hilux to become a market specific model in 1995.

“Today, we have the market really well covered with Tacoma, but [a compact pickup] could be a possibility and something we continue to look at,” the publication quoted him as saying.

In the same interview, Toyota Group North America Vice-President of Product Planning and Strategy, Cooper Ericksen, said: “If there’s a customer that needs a rugged, smaller body-on-frame vehicle, we can consider that, but if it’s more for urban use and less extreme off-road, then it would make more sense to use the TNGA unibody platform”.

While both declined to provide a time-of-arrival, Theron hinted at Toyota’s annual State of the Motor Industry conference in January that an announcement would only be made in 2025 or 2026, the former year coinciding with the automaker’s absolute deadline of having all of its vehicles electrified with at least a hybrid drivetrain.

Details soon?

For now, official details regarding the mild-hybrid Fortuner and Hilux are unknown, but expect a preview to emerge within the coming months should reports of the next generation version of the former prove accurate.

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