TOYOTA, which introduced petrol-electric hybrid technology to South Africa in the form of the Prius has launched what it says is the most affordable hybrid car in the country, the Corolla Hybrid, along with a hybrid version of its popular Rav4 SUV.
The Corolla Hybrid 1.8 XS, which is priced from R419,900, pairs a 1.8l petrol engine and electric motor to provide a combined 90kW output with a claimed fuel consumption of just 3.5l /100km and a range of over 1,200km on a single tank. The top speed is 180km/h.
The Rav4 GX Hybrid CVT starts at R555,300 and pairs a normally aspirated 2.5 petrol engine with an electric motor for a claimed fuel consumption of 4.7l / 100km and a top speed of 200km/h.
“Both Corolla and RAV4 Hybrid are a first for South Africa and combine all the virtues of their conventional namesakes with the added performance and fuel efficiency of Toyota’s proven Hybrid system,” Toyota South Africa said in a statement released yesterday, 7 September 2021.
It’s part of the Japan-based automaker’s global New Energy Vehicles (NEV) roadmap branded “Towards Carbon Neutral”, which has as its ultimate goal to get to zero emissions by 2050, but with a number of intermediate milestones in-between.
“And here we’re not just talking emissions produced by a vehicle, Toyota plans to be emission-free throughout the production process, not just for Toyota but our suppliers as well,” the company said.
To this end Toyota South Africa has an initial plan to roll out Hybrid variants on most of its mainstream model ranges. It has already confirmed the introduction of the locally produced Corolla Cross in petrol and Hybrid from November this year.
“This, however, is just the start of the electrification programme – the full spectrum of NEVs will be launched when there Is sufficient demand and when the infrastructure can support their Introduction.”
