Toyota HiLux mild-hybrid diesel confirmed for Australia just dont call it a hybrid

Australia’s top-selling vehicle, the Toyota HiLux ute, is poised to get mild-hybrid diesel power – but the company is downplaying the tech due to only modest fuel-savings.

The Toyota HiLux ute is poised to get the option of mild-hybrid diesel power from next year, the car-maker has confirmed.

As exclusively reported by Drive earlier this year, the Toyota HiLux will be the first diesel ute sold in Australia with mild-hybrid assistance, but the company has stopped short of calling it a hybrid or using the word hybrid in its marketing material because the fuel-savings are only minor.

While Toyota’s petrol-hybrid cars typically use 40 to 50 per cent less fuel than equivalent petrol-only models, the more basic mild-hybrid diesel set-up in the Toyota HiLux is said to only trim fuel consumption by 10 per cent.

Drive understands Toyota Australia executives have over the past 12 months been debating what to call the technology, not wanting to damage the reputation it has established with its vast range of petrol-hybrid cars.

In a media statement issued this morning, Toyota Australia said the new “48-volt technology offers approximately 10 per cent improvement in fuel economy” and will debut on SR5 double-cab 4×4 and Rogue double-cab 4×4 models “in the first half of 2024.”

Toyota says the 48-volt technology will be paired with the 2.8-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic transmission and comprises “an additional, 48-volt battery, small electric motor-generator and other components.”

Toyota says the technology will also enable an idle stop/start system, as well as “reduced noise, vibration and harshness.”

It is unclear what performance benefits will be delivered – if any – however the company says off-road ability and towing ability are not adversely impacted.

The extra weight of the technology, however, could lead to a reduced payload.

Toyota says it will announce more details closer to the showroom arrivals of these models.

Meanwhile, it is unclear whether the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series will adopt the mild-hybrid version of the 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel, or the standard engine from today’s Toyota HiLux.

As previously reported, the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series is expected to soon gain the option of 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel power with an automatic transmission, to sell alongside 4.5-litre turbo diesel V8 and five-speed manual variants.

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