Celine Nolan

Toyota has formally pulled the covers off its EPU electric ute thought and Toyota Australia is eager so that you can add it to their lineup.

The EPU – or ‘Electrical Pick Up’ used to be provided earlier this week and has now made its bodily level to on the Japan Mobility Advise, with Toyota Australia indicating a solid appetite so that you can add a production version of the ute to their domestic lineup.

Talking to Chasing Autos on the launch, Toyota Australia vp of gross sales and marketing and marketing Sean Hanley indicated that Australia would ‘definitely keep our hand up’ for the auto and that he thinks the EV ute ‘could furthermore skedaddle into production with minimal adjustments’.

Whereas having a protracted 3350mm wheelbase, the EPU is genuinely 165mm shorter than the present Hilux double-cab.

The EPU is also about 500mm shorter than a Rivian R1T electric decide-up, with Hanley indicating there might well be a gap in the market for a smaller and maybe extra reasonable fully-electric ute.

Importantly, he acknowledged the auto could be a enormous  ‘addition’ to the native line-up – to not be at a loss for words with a possible electric substitute for the HiLux, of which Toyota fair not too long previously introduced a prototype to Australia.

Toyota acknowledged market realities which scrutinize the extensive majority of potentialities in the ute phase peaceable leaning toward diesel powertrains to fulfill their desire for long distance differ ability and high towing ability.

The EPU’s extremely-long wheelbase indicates it’s ready to build up a quite honest battery, maybe measuring round 100kWh. That battery could furthermore provide a differ of about 500km unladen, or about 250km while towing.

Hanley cited the complexities in juggling these customer calls for with the expense of electrification, noting the obligatory want for mountainous batteries and attributable to this reality mountainous weight, as well as the movement-on of expense onto potentialities.

Despite this, Hanley sees a cleave of the market which could be willing to soar ship to a automobile comparable to the EPU.

Toyota has space an interior aim of in conjunction with an ‘electrified’ variant to all of its devices by 2030. Right here’s expected to steal the fabricate of a stronger Hilux hybrid than the Forty eight-volt at ease-hybrid Hilux arriving domestically in 2024.

It’s expected the EPU could be a pragmatic electric complement to Toyota’s native ute lineup which already involves the petrol or diesel powered Hilux as the entry-level.

The differ can even soon scrutinize the addition of the upper petrol-hybrid Tundra for customer beta-attempting out forward of a closing resolution on a remarkable wider launch in 2025.

‘We steal what’s upright for our potentialities… it’s all about being a mobility solution for all’, Hanley acknowledged.

The EPU wasn’t primarily the most easy ute on level to on the motor cloak, with Toyota also revealing the IMV-O single cab ute thought. Then again, that automobile has been fundamentally dominated out as coming to Australia.

A senior Toyota executive has reaffirmed that a “quiet majority” of Australians enact no longer desire EVs at this stage.

Speaking with Chasing Autos, Toyota Australia vice president of sales and advertising and marketing Sean Hanley said those clients require a assorted combination of lengthy vary, heavy towing functionality and lifelike pricing: a proposition no EV in the interim satisfies, the emblem says.

“Should always you perceive at the procedure in which of dwelling that Australians revel in, we would squawk there is a gigantic market [of people for whom EVs are not suitable],” said Toyota Australia vice president of sales and advertising and marketing Sean Hanley.

Talking to Chasing Autos at the 2023 Japan mobility tell – where Toyota unveiled 5 unique battery-electrical items, plus an inexpensive, combustion-powered ute – Hanley equipped examples of demographics for whom EVs don’t but work.

Toyota fears alienating majority if shift to EVs is simply too lickety-split

“Electrification is section of our approach, but no longer all of it. Why? Because if you happen to streak to all of that currently, you’re going to surely alienate a huge amount of the market in Australia because [electrification] can’t enact what they wish it to enact.

“Look at the mining and agriculture industries, perceive at who we respectfully know as the ‘gray nomads’,” Hanley said, referring to retirees who tow caravans lengthy-distance, most steadily with a Toyota Land Cruiser four-wheel force.

“Possess a perceive at Land Cruiser sales. Possess a perceive at Hilux sales. Possess a perceive at Prado sales, and all [Toyota] SUVs,” said Hanley.

“There would possibly be a quiet majority of Australians, who aren’t necessarily talking, who require these vehicles.

To this point in 2023, Toyota has delivered 44,301 Hilux utes and 19,071 Land Cruiser four-wheel drives in Australia. That compares to 23,457 deliveries of the Tesla Model Y – the country’s easiest-selling EV mannequin, a midsize SUV.

Neither the Land Cruiser nor the Hilux has an electrified variant. Nevertheless, Toyota will open hybrid versions of every and each the Hilux ute and the Land Cruiser by a purpose date of 2030.

Extra, Toyota veteran this week’s Tokyo motor tell to direct theory versions of a fully-electrical Land Cruiser SE and the EPU electrical pick-up, each and each of which are high on Toyota Australia’s agenda to sell locally.

If the electrical versions reached production, they could be bought alongside combustion-hybrid Land Cruiser and Hilux items concurrently, offering clients assorted ranges of functionality, comfort, vary and towing.

“Still majority” own heavy-duty requirements, no longer lower than most steadily

“While electrification is accelerating, there remains to be a gigantic market of of us who enact need 700-800 kilometres of vary, who enact are looking out for to tow 3.5 tonnes, and who don’t are looking out for to alarm whether or not they’ll earn dwelling because there is not any longer any such thing as a charging space – or no automobile that is affordable for them.

“It’s no longer that they don’t desire one, but what EV is on hand for them? I don’t know where that automobile is. I’m no longer talking a pair of BEV that can enact 100km whereas towing 3.5 tonnes.

“I’m talking a pair of BEV that can enact 700 to 800km whereas towing, and recharge in 5 minutes.

“When you will take care of an EV that’s going to enact 3.5 tonne towing for 700km, I’ll repeat you now, when it does advance, it gained’t be cheap as a result of the huge battery and the weight.

“Which capacity it is mighty extra worthy to impact business vehicles than it is to impact a passenger SUV,” Hanley said.

Except the car exchange delivers a viable EV option with lengthy vary, high towing functionality and cheap pricing, Hanley foresees that Australians will reduction their contemporary vehicles for longer.

“Where are they going to streak? All they could enact is reduction [the car] they own got forever. And it’d be a surely, very game executive that can begin taxing [existing car ownership],” Hanley said.

Lexus has officially launched two new battery-electrical thought autos that can succor pave the approach for the approach forward for Toyota’s luxurious arm.

The first thought to debut at the Tokyo Motor Repeat is known as the LF-ZC (Lexus Future Zero-emission Catalyst) that has been confirmed for a 2026 initiate.

The second is what Lexus calls the LF-ZL (Lexus Future Zero Emission Luxury) which is what the logo says is its “flagship thought”.

Customary aspects all the arrangement via the 2 devices will consist of all-wheel-drive propulsion and Lexus’ steer-by-wire machine.

Curiously, Lexus has suggested obvious of releasing an SUV thought, and is sticking to producing ideas of sizable saloon or sedan shapes.

Lexus is additionally concentrated on a low-streak coefficient for these autos, alongside with debuting new prismatic batteries with “twice the differ of frail BEVs”.

Seek recordsdata from to breeze hunting for noteworthy more in the Lexus electrical dwelling over the next year or so.

The Lexus LF-ZC thought

Debuting as a sleek thought with a low centre of gravity and “a roomy cabin”, the LF-ZC may be the first of the 2 ideas to attain a manufacturing section. Lexus is concentrated on a 2026 initiate date for this mannequin.

Lexus has acknowledged that the LF-ZC thought measures in at 4750mm prolonged, 1880mm wide, 1390mm good and has a wheelbase of 2890mm.

Essential aspects for this thought consist of a sleek, low roofline, angled front-slay styling and wide rear LED strip light.

The Lexus LF-ZL flagship thought

The second thought from Lexus has been designed, in the firm’s occupy phrases, as a “prestigious ownership trip beyond correct the auto, with innovation in next-technology BEV architecture and tendencies from the brand new Arene OS instrument platform”.

Lexus has acknowledged that the LF-ZL flagship has an total dimension of 5300mm, a width of 2020mm, a peak of 1700mm and a longer wheelbase of 3350mm.

Essential aspects for this excessive-slay thought consist of funky opening doors, sport seats, a yoke-kind steering wheel with screens both side and, lastly, a ginormous visual show unit for the motive force and front passenger identical in dimension to a household television.

Lexus bolstering its manufacturing route of for EVs

Lexus says its next EVs can be constructed the usage of gigacastings, which is terribly harking abet to Tesla’s manufacturing route of.

The manufacturing arrangement back for Lexus will now be largely a self-pushed meeting line with noteworthy more autonomy than ever sooner than.

Lexus has additionally eradicated conveyer belts for the manufacturing of its electrical autos going forward.

The emblem has acknowledged that new “excessive-performance” battery technology is additionally coming with enhanced weight bargain to abet car efficiency and total battery performance.

Because the February 2024 open date of the Toyota BZ4X electrical midsize SUV attracts nearer, details of the auto’s Australian-market battery occupy been published.

Chasing Autos was invited to tour the Himeji, Japan battery manufacturing facility that will present the nickel-manganese cobalt battery pack for the Australian-spec BZ4X from open.

A used Panasonic tv manufacturing facility, the Himeji plant of Top Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES) was converted to provide beefy-EV batteries at scale in 2019 in a joint endeavor owned 51 percent by Toyota and 49 percent by Panasonic.

Toyota targets 90 percent EV battery lifestyles retention after 10 years

The repurposed plant in southeast Japan continues to ramp up, and its center of attention since its electrode formation, battery assembly and battery formation traces opened in 2021 has been on reaching Toyota’s quality and longevity requirements.

In October 2021, Toyota published an ambitious purpose: that the BZ4X, a Tesla Model Y rival, would have 90 percent of its normal battery ability 10 years after it was built.

Operations on the Himeji plant are calibrated in share to hit this purpose. PPES and Toyota executives are in particular delighted with a 20-day, 11-step charging and rising outdated course of that is the fruits of a battery’s manufacturing lope.

“This contributes to the stabilisation of battery performance,” Top Planet’s Takenori Kimura informed Chasing Autos. “In an preliminary fee section, a chemical response takes place interior the battery. The output following can make a contribution to the longer-time interval longevity of battery lifestyles.”

Contained within the multi-storey Himeji plant, operators supervise machines that coat and tight coil electrodes and combine them into cell banks, before cells are conveyed backward and forward between charging, rising outdated and discharging states for almost about three weeks.

Then, the bedded-in batteries destined for Australian BZ4X customers are ready to be shipped 280km from the Himeji plant to Toyota’s BZ4X manufacturing facility in Aichi, Japan.

Toyota Australia’s vice president of sales and marketing Sean Hanley rapid that strengthening long-time interval battery lifestyles would bolster spotty EV residual values.

“Whereas we face the same residual value challenges as any different BEV producer, we are in a position to be ready to [have a clear view] of the longevity and quality of those batteries, and amortise the value over some time interval. We’ve a official place to delivery.

“No two batteries are the same. The batteries produced right here are a sever above those offered by many others available within the market by manner of quality, performance, safety, and reliability.”

Toyota’s Top Planet battery-making arm space to rival CATL

PPES, led by Toyota archaic executive Hiroaki Koda, has a rising profile interior the wider Toyota community of corporations.

As effectively as working the Himeji plant, PPES has been tasked with converting some existing Toyota engine factories and acquiring fresh providers to enhance Toyota’s rising EV battery requirements. The carmaker plans to trace 3.5 million EVs yearly by 2030.

The rising footprint of PPES presents Toyota with a majority-owned competitor to battery-manufacturing giants like China’s CATL and BYD – despite the proven fact that Toyota is also buying batteries from both of those suppliers to supplement PPES’s output.

The PPES Himeji plant produces batteries for Toyota and different producers in approximately equal measure. Plenty of Toyota-particular battery manufacturing traces at the moment provide batteries for 80,000 BZ4X SUVs per year – about 5.8GWh in ability per Chasing Autos estimates.

Himeji battery plant to double in ability in 2024

Toyota is pouring funding into the Himeji plant to higher than double its ability to provide batteries namely for Toyota EV items, with one other 7GWh ability space to lope online in 2024 – taking whole Toyota battery ability at Himeji to about 13GWh.

That circa-13GWh ability is understood to provider the trace of about 160,000 BZ4X items – averaging 81.2kWh per battery – which could per chance per chance well suggest the BZ4X could per chance per chance well moreover fabricate a longer-vary battery option in future.

PPES says that battery manufacturing at Himeji will “sequentially enlarge” after 2024 – and there looked to be predominant areas of unused space on the plant that ought to permit this to happen.

The BZ4X is Toyota’s first entry into the fully-electrical segment in Australia. It is far a midsize SUV same in dimension to a RAV4, on hand with single- or twin-motor AWD formats basically based round a 72kWh-whole, 64kWh-usable battery.

From its open in Australia, the BZ4X will pack in batteries built from scratch from the PPES Himeji plant, despite the proven fact that different suppliers could per chance per chance well be feeble in future looking on requirements.

Australian modern car consumers are on the total known for their take care of of better-spec vehicles, and with the upcoming Ford Mustang Mach-E, this vogue rings simply.

Ford Australia confirmed to native media all the plan in which thru the starting up of the Mustang Mach-E in Brisbane that 40 p.c of total pre-orders absorb been for the flagship GT.

Even supposing the logo’s native arm declined to provide right numbers, Ford did train Chasing Vehicles that there has been “many of” of pre-orders and “hundreds” of expressions of passion for the car to this level.

Priced at a serious $107,665 ahead of on-aspect road costs, the Mustang Mach-E GT makes use of a twin-motor setup and a 91kWh battery pack to maintain total outputs of 358kW/860Nm.

Extraordinary to the GT are 20-slide alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero rubber, magneride adaptive suspension, Brembo brakes and Ford Efficiency front seats. The GT has a claimed WLTP vary of 490km.

The the relaxation of the Mustang Mach-E vary comprises the Pick out (from $Seventy 9,990) and the Top price (from $91,665) – both of which could per chance also very correctly be rear-wheel pressure.

The center-tier Top price is in a position to traveling as much as 600km on a single charge on account of the elevated 91kWh usable battery pack, whereas the outrageous Pick out can hurry 470km with a smaller 71kWh usable battery pack.

Mustang Mach-E no longer designed to be a funds EV

Ford Australia has made it sure that its modern electric Mustang-branded product is no longer supposed to be a funds EV, and has confirmed it doesn’t absorb in its plans to bring a smaller battery pack or more cost effective interior for the Mach-E within the lengthy hunch.

Starting from $Seventy 9,990 ahead of on-aspect road costs, this trace makes the Mach-E extra costly than both a outrageous Tesla Model Y midsize SUV and a outrageous Polestar 2 liftback, and is extra healthy focused in direction of Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 SUV and 6 sedan models.

It’s likely that the upcoming Ford Puma EV diminutive SUV will bear the outlet left by the Mustang Mach-E within the vary, and can purpose more cost effective EVs corresponding to the GWM Ora and MG’s MG4 electric hatchbacks.