
Fun and launches at Festival of Motoring
What to see at the Festival of Motoring.
- Industry News
- 28 August 2025
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.
In a groundbreaking achievement for electric mobility, Yangwang, BYD's premium automotive division, has shattered the global electric vehicle speed record at Germany's renowned Automotive Testing Papenburg (ATP) facility.
JLR has reached a significant milestone in the roll-out of its global renewable energy strategy with the opening of a new solar farm the size of up to 36 football pitches at its Gaydon headquarters in the United Kingdom (UK).
Chery South Africa showcased the latest addition to its Tiggo 7 range; the CSH Plug-in Hybrid’s efficiency on a road trip managed to squeeze 1 290km from a single tank of petrol.