Toyota: We are making progress on electrification!

Toyota Australia insists it is making progress on its electrification strategy even if critics disagree.

Those critics – including EVcentral’s own John Carey who pointed out that despite record sales of hybrids, Toyota’s higher sales of diesels cancel out those CO2 savings and mean Toyota is above the national average – point to the lack of plug-in electric vehicles Toyota offers here and its reliance on high-emissions diesel 4x4s to bolster sales.

But Toyota proudly boasts of record sales for its expanding orthodox hybrid line-up and its decision to import the second generation Mirai hydrogen electric vehicles as evidence of its willingness to embrace change.

The company sold a record 54,335 hybrids in Australia in 2020 as it stormed to top spot on the Aussie sales ladder for the 18th year in a row and the 24th time overall.

“In actual fact we are progressing,” insisted Toyota Australia sales and marketing chief Sean Hanley, who has been involved in the company’s local hybrid product plan since the launch of the original Prius.

“Some would say ‘are we progressing quick enough in Australia?’ But that question was asked 20 years ago when we launched hybrid. In fact people were saying the opposite.

“Toyota will get it right and will do it in a way that is sustainable and in a way that engages the market.

“So I would argue on the strength of our hybrid sales and on the strength of our direction in hydrogen, we are in fact progressing in this market in electrification.”

Toyota’s focus on hybrids had been global until only recently. Reflecting that, Hanley has previously stated the Australian branch didn’t anticipate having a battery electric vehicle on-sale until at least 2025.

But after displaying some resistance in recent years, Toyota has recently confirmed an aggressive global roll-out of battery electric vehicles starting in 2021, most likely badged ‘BZ’.

Toyota is also developing an EV version of the LandCruiser 70-Series.

That follows up a 2017 commitment to offer electrified assistance to every model in its range by 2025

Hanley dropped the barest hint that the acceleration of EV roll-out by Toyota Australia’s parent could prompt a quicker roll-out here too.

“We are always evaluating our electrification strategy and products that become available globally,” he said.

“We are in a very fortunate position with Toyota where we do have quite a significant line-up we can draw down from other markets, particularly when they are right-hand drive.

“So while 2025 is a benchmark year for us, we are always looking at reviewing when and where, whether we need to pull forward models, whether we delay models, these are normal model cycle revisions we do.

Hanley stressed Toyota Australia had no philosophical objection to plug-in electric vehicles, be they hybrids or battery-only EVs.

“We’ve never ruled it out,” he said.

“We have no announcements to make right now, but Toyota Australia has always maintained we have never ruled out plug-in hybrids or plug-in electric vehicles, we have never done that.

“What we have said is we have seen hybrid technology that’s taken off and we’ve seen Australians really engage in that technology.”

The first Toyota electrified vehicle with a plug to go on sale in Australia will actually come from its Lexus luxury brand. The UX300e is due in November 2021.