Creta-rivalling upcoming Toyota and Maruti Suzuki SUV to get strong hybrid
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Toyota is gearing up to move towards electrification of its portfolio by promoting its Self-charging Hybrid Electric Vehicles (SHEV) technology in the Indian car market. The big news is that Toyota will be making this technology more accessible by introducing this premium technology in the mass market category by debuting it in its upcoming midsize SUV it is co-developing with Maruti Suzuki.
First mid-size SUVs to get strong hybrid
The upcoming midsize SUV from Toyota, codenamed D22, will be the first midsize mass-market SUV in India to feature a strong hybrid technology. However, it will not be the first-ever mass-market hybrid vehicle, as Honda has already announced the City e:HEV Hybrid which somehow uses the same tech as Toyota’s SHEV technology.
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According to sources, this new 5-seater SUV will have a combination of a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a small NiMH (Nickel-Metal Hydride) battery pack with an electric motor as part of the SHEV powertrain. The main highlight of this SHEV powertrain is that it can be operated in both pure-electric and pure-gasoline modes, with the former one preferable for short-distance drives.
The NiMH battery pack is rechargeable while driving, thanks to a regenerative braking system. At times when the battery is running out of charge, the powertrain can switch itself to pure-gasoline mode, thus eliminating the fears of range anxiety, which still is one of the big concerns for people who wish to switch to pure electric vehicles.
Petrol engine to charge the batteries
The new SUV from Toyota with the SHEV technology is driven on electric power by using the 1.5-litre petrol engine to charge the battery. The new SUV will have an efficiency of 90-95 per cent using SHEV technology, as the power is consumed via the battery and the motor and not directly from the engine.
According to Toyota, this new SHEV technology can achieve a 40-80 per cent increase in fuel efficiency compared to a similar-spec conventional petrol-only engine. Even the tests conducted by the iCAT study on the IRDE cycle back this claim made by Toyota. The powertrain employing the SHEV system can use the electric motor as much as it can without any limitations, due to which the SUV will also have significantly reduced CO2 emission levels, which are said to be as low as 50 per cent lesser than a non-hybrid powertrain.
The new Toyota midsize SUV featuring the SHEV technology is said to make its debut in the second half of 2022, primarily before the commencement of the festive season in Q3 2022. In its current lineup for India, Toyota already has two full-hybrid vehicles, Vellfire MPV and Camry sedan.
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