In line with its parent company’s recent strategic realignment to new-energy vehicles (NEV), Toyota South Africa recently laid its NRV cards for SA on the table.
Although the company maintains that internal combustion engines (ICE) still have a role to play, it said it will be shifting a large part of its focus to traditional hybrid vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) and other engine conversions over the next few years, as far as the SA market is concerned.
The biggest news is that Toyota will be launching a new, mildly hybrid Hilux and Fortuner in early 2024 consisting of the standard ICE combined with an integrated starter generator and 12V-48V battery.
The company will also be introducing the Toyota Crown to South Africa this year. This crossover Crown variant is powered by a 2.5-litre, parallel-hybrid drivetrain with an output in the neighbourhood of 170kW and a fuel consumption of under 5.0L/100km.
Another NEV addition to the local market from Toyota will be a hybrid version of the new Urban Cruiser.
It is also rumoured that the plug-in hybrid RAV4, Lexus NX and RX are on their way.
Toyota has said that owing to the current scarcity of electricity on the African continent, that BEVs won’t be a practical solution yet for local consumers.
A vehicle dealership has been fined R200 000 for contravening sections of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) by refusing a consumer’s request to cancel his vehicle purchase transaction two days after the purchased vehicle’s engine seized.
On Thursday, 27 March from 18:30, Creative Rides will be offering six of the most iconic BMWs of all time at its auction, which is taking place at its showroom in Main Road, Bryanston.
Nissan and Premcar have launched the Navara PRO-4X Warrior – a vehicle purpose-built for the most demanding on- and off-road conditions South Africa has to offer.
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I always do like seeing other people dance in their cars. It's one of the things that makes me happy.
Ariel Gore
“We welcome the announcement by the National Treasury to allocate funds to support the local production of new-energy vehicles and batteries, as well as related manufacturing projects,” says Joubert Roux, Founder of CHARGE.
After a 4-month journey covering more than 16 000km from Morocco to South Africa, the four fully-electric Citroën Amis, La Croisière Verte (Green cruise), have successfully completed their expedition, proving the feasibility of micro-mobility and electrification across diverse terrains.
During May, MasterDrive will host a New Energy Vehicle (NEV) Fleet Workshop where the topic will be delved into with great detail. While the exact date is yet to be confirmed, several experts will be coming together to unpack pertinent issues related to NEVs.
