The 2025 Toyota Hilux is coming next year says a Toyota Australia exec. Here are some early details about its powertrain options.
A fresh report from CarsGuide suggests the next-generation 2025 Toyota Hilux will be launching in Australia in 2025. In an interview with Toyota Australia’s VP of Sales and Marketing Sean Hanley, some details about the new model’s powertrain were shared.
The Australian market is concerned about the ever-stricter emissions laws and when asked about the new 9th-generation Hilux’s engine, Hanley said: “You’ll have to wait until 2025.” While its still early days and Toyota is known for keeping its cards very close to its chest, there’s no denying that the new Ford Ranger and subsequent confirmation of a plug-in hybrid bakkie, must have set off a few alarms.
Hanley didn’t comment on the new 2025 Toyota Hilux powertrain, but we know that Toyota has quite the array of engines to choose from. We’d almost guarantee the diesels (including the new mild-hybrid 48V engines that have just landed in March 2024) will be present, but let’s forget the brand’s extensive experience in hybrid powertrains.
Forget the Toyota Corolla Cross hybrid for a second and think about the American bakkie market where the Toyota Tacoma features a 2.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine paired to a 36 kW electric motor making a total 243 kW and 630 Nm. Another engine worth considering is the naturally-aspirated 2.5-litre petrol engine with a hybrid system making 176 kW and driving all four wheels. This latter motor saw duty in the Crown, which was available locally in very limited numbers.
Hanley confirmed hybrid and plug-in hybrid tech is being developed for Toyota’s light commercial vehicles. “If you had asked me three, four, five years ago, I was reluctant, because I don’t think it’s a convenient technology,” Mr Hanley says. “However, battery technology evolves, and it’s evolving quickly. If we can get to a situation where a PHEV has the capability of doing 200-plus kilometres on BEV alone — so in other words, if I’ve got a Hilux I can just go around town, I can run that on BEV and be carbon-neutral pretty well, providing I’m using renewable energy to do it.”
There are further comments regarding hybrid tech for the 2025 Toyota Hilux by Mr Hanley. “Now the issue is of course, can it tow? Can it take a heavy load? Well, to be able to flick a switch and say, well, for those moments where I’m going out off-road or for those moments where I need to tow a heavy load, I’ve got the convenience of going to a normal hybrid engine and I can get 500 or 600 kilometres and it’s convenient, then I see a role for PHEV in that space. I think that’s some years away, to be honest, that battery technology. But when it comes, PHEVs will have a renewed engagement with the market because they’ll go from what I call the ultimate inconvenience to the ultimate convenience,” said Hanley.
2025 Toyota Hilux launch in South Africa?
While we expect diesel to be the default choice for South African Hilux consumers, it’s looking increasingly likely that we’ll see the debut of some serious petrol-hybrid technology in the 2025 Toyota Hilux.
As a reminder, the popular bakkie is assembled right here in SA at the brand’s plant in Prospecton, near Durban. This model is SA’s most popular vehicle and we’ll be keeping a close eye on the gestation of the 9th-generation model.
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