Celine Nolan

Mitsubishi is making prepared to launch a hybrid version of the Triton ute within the following couple of years, and fingers-on trying out has considered engineers lock of their want for a mechanical 4wd gadget rather then electrified AWD.

Strict CO2 emissions rules in diverse markets in which Mitsubishi sells the Triton, at the side of Australia, has hastened constructing of a hybrid version, which is ready to on the muse be a ‘plugless’ hybrid—though a drag-in hybrid (PHEV) is anticipated to device later.

While Mitsubishi engineers are very the genuine electric motor management supplied by a dual-motor AWD gadget, electrified AWD has been dominated out as perceived engineering challenges will rob too long to conquer.

Triton hybrid to launch “as soon as we can” says Mitsubishi

“We enjoy to launch [the Triton hybrid] as soon as we can,” Mitsubishi Motors engineering fellow Kaoru Sawase suggested media at the side of Chasing Vehicles.

“From the purpose of view of needing to hastily launch the auto, we can build no longer enjoy any want however to switch for the P2 hybrid play like Land Rover and [Toyota] Land Cruiser,” acknowledged Sawase.

A P2 hybrid gadget areas the electrical motor between the within combustion engine and the transmission and 4-wheel pressure gadget, that system that either or both the combustion engine and/or electric motor can send energy downstream.

Choosing this more effective hybrid setup system that Mitsubishi will probably be ready to launch the Triton hybrid “within the following couple of years,” fixed with senior engineer Sawase.

Mitsubishi widely evaluated the BYD Shark 6 as a benchmark hybrid ute, however Sawase acknowledged this trying out revealed flaws within the Shark 6’s electric AWD gadget that Mitsubishi believes it would possibly possibly possibly possibly possibly no longer overcome rapid sufficient.

Triton hybrid to protest electric motor between engine and mechanical 4wd gadget

Sawase acknowledged that the instruct for off-toll road hybrids with dual-motor electric AWD (rather then mechanical 4wd in a P2 hybrid setup) used to be to “enjoy a huge output of using energy…that wants to last for a truly long time.”

Through benchmarking of the BYD Shark 6 and the Outlander PHEV, Mitsubishi acknowledged that thermal challenges with dual-motor AWD meant it used to be “refined to [produce] grand torque for a truly long time.”

“In uncover to conquer the challenges with the electrical using [off-road], we use the engine as an insurance for the using energy,” acknowledged Sawase.

The particular nature of that underlying engine is no longer yet identified though it’s susceptible to be a petroleum engine, presumably with a turbocharger.

A Triton hybrid would take a seat alongside the aloof 150kW/470Nm 2.4-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder within the Australian market.

Sawase confirmed that he had pushed the BYD Shark 6 on Mitsubishi’s Hokkaido proving ground. While he used to be impressed with the Shark he acknowledged that the BYD’s “off-toll road functionality is no longer so excessive.”

Collected, the Mitsubishi engineer acknowledged that he felt that till the Shark 6’s thermal protections kick in, its off-toll road performance and electric motor management used to be “moderately appropriate.”

Electric AWD has doable however Mitsubishi says it’s five years off

Mitsubishi plans to sooner or later overcome the thermal components it believes are a roadblock to the utilization of electric AWD for a Triton or Pajero off roader, however Sawase predicts that “for the following five years…for pure off-toll road we ought to serene traipse for mechanical 4wd.”

“After five years, there is a appropriate doable that [an] EV can additionally attain pure 4wd [as a] pure off-toll road automobile. We’re watching how the technologies build.”

That timing would possibly possibly possibly align smartly for the delayed launch of a deliberate absolutely electric Triton.

“Within the past, now we enjoy got announced to launch a BEV, or battery electric automobile, Triton, however now that route has shifted a miniature bit bit,” acknowledged Sawase.

Toyota Australia is giving excessive consideration for a expose to originate the ultra-luxurious Century stamp in the community, with senior Lexus bosses allocated duty for analysing the enterprise case.

“Because it goes to be positioned above [it], Lexus will rob the lead on that automobile,” Toyota Australia vice president of sales and marketing Sean Hanley knowledgeable Chasing Autos.

“Century wants very specialised consideration, nevertheless there may be a market in Australia, and optimistically, over the foreseeable year or two, we are able to be ready to construct a case for it. It is under no circumstances confirmed to my knowledge for Australia, nevertheless I deem we would per chance per chance calm gawk it,” Hanley acknowledged.

Toyota world chairman Akio Toyoda passe a keynote speech on the 2025 Tokyo Motor Present to thunder that now not ideally suited used to be the stamp’s flagship Century line turning into an honest stamp above Lexus, nevertheless that Century would additionally be sold out of the country.

Till now, Century items were essentially restricted to very restricted sales in the Eastern market ideally suited, the put the phoenix-badged luxurious vehicles are held in very deep like.

Now, Toyota will audaciously strive to pit Century’s lineup—consisting of a tremendous, outmoded sedan, a luxurious SUV, and a coming near near raised coupe model—head-to-head with Rolls-Royce and Bentley in selected out of the country markets.

Lexus Australia chief govt officer John Pappas has been given duty to deem Century’s suitability for the native market.

“We’re for the time being studying whether or now not the Century stamp has a predicament in the Australian market to counterpoint the Lexus stamp,” Pappas knowledgeable media at the side of Chasing Autos.

“That is also very minute [production] as a result of it’s handmade. They’re entirely customised. If we noticed an different the put we felt love this would take a seat internal our market in picture to counterpoint the Lexus stamp and the entire Toyota household, we may per chance positively be having a maintain a look at it,” acknowledged Pappas.

It is calm early days, and questions akin to whether or now not Century would leverage the rising Lexus vendor network in Australia have not been resolved.

Lexus Australia will simultaneously work thru a stamp pivot of its maintain because the pinnacle payment arm of Toyota pursues ‘fresh luxurious’ shapes and suggestions, leaving extra conservative codecs to Century.

The Tokyo Motor Present noticed the disclosing of two radical Lexus LS flagship ideas, with the unusual three-box sedan structure remark to be abandoned in favour of both a luxurious van, a coupe-SUV, or both.

Whereas the realm Century announcement came as one thing as a surprise, senior Toyota Australia officers maintain known about the opinion for some time.

“I didn’t know its positioning [as a brand above Lexus] until honest now not too long previously, nevertheless I’ve known about the Century [plan] for a whereas, yes,” acknowledged Toyota boss Hanley.

Pure markets for the Century will consist of the Heart East and other Asian international locations, although Toyota North The United States is additionally understood to be eager.

The ultra-luxurious market in Australia is amazingly minute nevertheless makes love Bentley and Rolls-Royce, love Century, attain now not depend on and even essentially desire high volumes.

For the length of the first nine months of 2025, Bentley has sold 95 vehicles in Australia—most of them Bentayga SUVs or coupes—whereas Rolls-Royce has delivered 50 vehicles, half of them being Cullinan SUVs.

Toyota’s surprise assert of the RAV4-sized LandCruiser FJ final week led to the glaring questions: whether, and when, Australian traders could perchance additionally smooth ask to be aware the rebooted FJ on local roads.

Speaking with Chasing Cars on the sidelines of the 2025 Japan Mobility Notify, at which two FJs on camouflage had been mobbed by crowds, Toyota Australia vice chairman of gross sales and marketing Sean Hanley published the resolution is advanced.

“There would possibly be rarely this kind of thing as a query that on looks and the LandCruiser name in Australia [the FJ] will be very attention-grabbing,” acknowledged Hanley.

“The hardcore truth we are dealing with in our country [is] variable rules, new requirements, new car efficiency requirements. We own now to leer very fastidiously at our product portfolio, at what we own we’re going to need, what we are going to promote in numbers, and what customers desire and desire.”

Whereas the FJ is just not any longer straight readily accessible to Toyota Australia, with initial focal level markets understood to be Japan, Thailand and the southeast Asian plot, the FJ has no longer been ruled out for Australia.

There are important hurdles in its diagram, on the opposite hand, as Hanley explained to Chasing Cars.

“We are privy to the automobile. We own now checked out it. We own now analysed it [as] finest as we can, and we loyal don’t—just appropriate now—advise it is miles a automobile that would perhaps be appropriate for our market.”

Suitability for the Australian market and buyer inquire of are a form of issues, and in the relieve of the scenes, Toyota insiders are privy to local curiosity in the FJ and would love to bring it down underneath.

In essence, three bins would must be ticked to bring the FJ to Australia. It would:

• Desire a a form of engine compliant with Australia’s Euro 6d emissions requirements
• Must be cheap for Toyota underneath Australia’s new CO2 emissions penalty diagram
• Must be compliant with Australian Form Guidelines along side with regards to side impression efficiency

So, how seemingly is it that answers would perhaps be learned to all three considerations?

The FJ wants a a form of engine for Australia that meets new Euro 6d emissions tips

Essentially the most important misfortune stopping the LandCruiser FJ being imported to Australia is that its 2TR-FE 2.7-litre petrol four-cylinder engine is dated and is no longer going to be updated to fulfill new emissions requirements coming into pressure in the community in December 2025.

Australia is on the cusp of adopting an emissions long-established known as Euro 6d, which contains more full of life actual-world testing of emissions along side CO2 and NOx.

All imprint-new devices launched into the Australian market from December this year must meet Euro 6d limits or they won’t be licensed for sale.

The Euro 6d tips are a form of to Australia’s Recent Automobile Effectivity Celebrated (NVES), which sees producers rep financial credits or penalties hoping on the total moderate CO2 profile of all autos they promote.

Toyota gross sales boss Hanley suggested Chasing Cars that whereas NVES used to be no longer a full bar on the FJ coming to Australia, Euro 6d used to be.

“It no doubt is the Euro 6 emissions long-established in Australia [stopping the FJ from coming for now]. That would additionally be a fact. That’s the law. Toyota is consistently committed to upholding the rules and ethics of the worldwide locations we work in,” Hanley suggested Chasing Cars.

“If [the FJ] used to be Euro 6, I’d rethink it. I’m loyal mentioning the variables. If that used to be a Euro 6 engine, if it does change into that diagram, which it will additionally, due to I don’t truly know what it is for the time being, then it is one thing we could perchance additionally re-glimpse,” acknowledged Hanley.

Toyota does own Euro 6d-succesful engines at its disposal that will appear to swimsuit the FJ platform, which is associated to the Asian-market Toyota HiLux Champ compact ute.

The HiLux Champ is straight away accessible with Toyota’s 2GD-FTV 2.4-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder engine, which makes exercise of a urea SCR aftertreatment gadget that Toyota has claimed in the previous satisfies Euro 6 emissions rules.

Whereas more radical engine swaps—perhaps along side a petroleum-electric hybrid drivetrain—are that that that you just would perhaps well own of, the top seemingly resolution will be the 2.4-litre diesel.

Even if the FJ gets a new engine, Toyota has to fastidiously bear in mind the NVES impression

In July this year Australia adopted NVES rules that will, in a straightforward sense, survey carmakers that promote too many diesel utes and 4WDs and no longer sufficient EVs and go-in hybrids (PHEVs) rep mountainous financial penalties, sapping or putting off income margins.

Whereas Toyota sells a mountainous proportion of ordinary hybrids in Australia—and it is working on bringing more EVs and PHEVs to the local market—a hyper-novel LandCruiser FJ would reason Toyota an NVES headache.

The CO2 emissions of the LandCruiser 300 Sequence, 250 Sequence Prado and HiLux are already a mountainous topic for Toyota, and the FJ would add to that misfortune.

An FJ fitted with the 2.4-litre diesel engine would seemingly employ a the same quantity of diesel to the Prado 2.8-litre, which is rated at 7.6L/100km with resulting CO2 emissions of 200g/km.

That’s quite a excessive CO2 quantity, especially as the FJ would face a comfy NVES limit of 117g/km from 2026 because it can perchance doubtlessly no longer qualify for the easier CO2 thresholds for heavy-responsibility 4WDs that can tow no longer no longer as much as 3000kg.

Even for these heavy-responsibility 4WDs, the NVES comfy limit is 180g/km next year—which manner even the Prado will soon be in the red.

Toyota will right now start a new-generation RAV4 midsize SUV in Australia that contains a pair of PHEV tidy grades. If these repeat to be very novel, it will additionally rep headroom underneath NVES for Toyota to add the FJ to the local lineup.

NVES is an accounting misfortune for automobile producers, and Toyota has to rep some full of life picks about which excessive-CO2 autos it desire and wishes to elevate on sale.

“Customers need the tall LandCruiser, just appropriate? Customers need that. Customers need the HiLux. We could perchance additionally smooth be very fastidiously deliberate on our product portfolio going forward,” acknowledged Hanley.

Unruffled, Hanley affirmed that NVES is just not any longer an legit bar to the FJ coming to Australia—loyal one other variable that will could perchance additionally smooth be overcome.

The FJ must meet Australian Form Guidelines

It is a long way rarely but confirmed that the LandCruiser FJ—or the HiLux Champ with which it shares some parts—would meet a form of Australian Form Rule requirements in its unique design.

Whereas the HiLux Champ is fitted with side intrusion beams, that does no longer essentially imply that the platform would meet Australia’s tips on side impression protection, which own was more sturdy to fulfill in unique years.

Hanley acknowledged that Toyota Australia didn’t but know whether the FJ would follow such tips.

Whereas a HiLux Champ used to be no longer too long prior to now noticed on Australian roads, Hanley acknowledged Toyota Australia used to be no longer responsible for bringing it into the country.