Toyota showcases next-gen engines
Toyota Motor Corporation has presented its next-generation engines that can be used in cars as varied as hybrids and those running on biofuel.
The manufacturer is finding ways to target tougher emissions standards and doubling down on its strategy of selling more than just electric vehicles (EVs).
At a media event with Subaru and Mazda, Toyota displayed in-development 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre engines with significantly reduced volume and height versus current engines.
“With these engines, each of the three companies will aim to optimise integration with motors, batteries, and other electric drive units,” the three carmakers say in a joint statement.
Toyota owns about one-fifth of Subaru and roughly five per cent of Mazda.
The three manufacturers say their efforts will help decarbonise internal combustion engines by making them compatible with alternative fuel sources such as e-fuels and biofuels.
They also hope more compact engines will revamp vehicle design by allowing for lower bonnets.
Toyota was widely considered an EV laggard but a slowdown in growth of zero-emitters has seen it benefit from an uptake of petrol-electric hybrids.
Refreshing its traditional engine technology against that backdrop mirrors a similar move at Mercedes-Benz, while BYD is also set to unveil new hybrid technology with lower fuel consumption.
The Japanese carmaker explains its new 1.5-litre engine will achieve volume and weight reduction of 10 per cent versus its existing 1.5-litre engines, which it uses in cars such as its Yaris compact.
The new 2.0-litre-turbo engine will have similar gains versus existing 2.4-litre turbo engines used in bigger models such as three-row seating SUVs.
Hiroki Nakajima, Toyota chief technology officer, declined to say when the company will launch models equipped with the new engines.
Carmakers are facing tougher emissions standards in markets such as the European Union where policymakers are working towards emissions rules known as Euro 7 for cars and vans from 2030, before banning sales of new carbon-dioxide-emitting cars from 2035.
While EVs have become more prominent in recent years, Toyota has been following a "multi-pathway" approach to carbon neutrality with vehicles offering a range of powertrains.
It sold about 2.4 million vehicles in January-March this year, of which nearly two-fifths were petrol-electric hybrids.
Plug-in hybrid, fuel-cell and all-battery electric vehicles together accounted for just 2.9 per cent.
Earlier this year, Toyota Motor chairman Akio Toyoda said EVs would reach a global market share of 30 per cent at most, with hybrids, hydrogen fuel-cell and fuel-burning vehicles making up the rest.
