Toyota has been at the forefront of hybrid technology and is looking to put its electric know-how to good use for future vehicles that will do away with the combustion engine altogether. The company has developed a new platform dubbed “e-TNGA” specifically for EVs – the first of which will be a midsize SUV teased here.
Set to be built in Japan at an EV-only factory, the unnamed model has already been developed with the help of Subaru and is being readied for production. For the time being, Toyota says it will sell the SUV in Europe, without going into details about availability outside of the Old Continent.
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We do know it will eventually be a global model, but “very European in the DNA and design.” The disclosure was made in an interview with Autocar by Toyota’s European product development boss, Andrea Carlucci.
The model in question will go up against the likes of the Volkswagen ID.4 and Nissan Ariya, but also Subaru’s own version likely called “Evoltis.” It will be followed by additional e-TNGA products, including a compact crossover co-developed with Suzuki, a midsize crossover, a large SUV, along with a sedan and a minivan. All six models will bear entirely new names to separate them from the conventionally powered Toyotas.
The midsize SUV’s reveal is scheduled to take place at some point in 2021 according to Autocar. It will go on sale “in a couple of years”, per Toyota Europe’s sales and marketing chief, Matt Harrison, cited by Automotive News Europe. In the meantime, Toyota says it will provide additional details in the coming months. We do know the e-TNGA platform has been engineered for front-, rear-, and all-wheel-drive setups with support for a wide variety of battery packs and electric motors.
You can rest assured Subaru’s AWD expertise has paid dividends during the development phase and Andrea Carlucci says it provides the best balance between the needs of all global regions. The new Toyota electric SUV will complement the hybrid and plug-in hybrid RAV4 as part of an important electrification push that also includes a second-generation Mirai and even a hybrid hypercar.