While the automotive world races towards electric, Toyota fights for a future where diesel still reigns.
While some car makers are saying goodbye to diesel engines, like Volvo did recently, Toyota is taking a different road. It’s not ready to let go of diesel just yet. In fact, it thinks diesel engines have a lot of life left in them. Toyota Australia’s sales and marketing boss, Sean Hanley, said in an interview that despite what many people think, diesel isn’t going away anytime soon — it’s especially important for big vehicles like trucks and large SUVs.
Diesel engines have had a rough time lately, with all the talk about the environment and cutting down on pollution. However, the Japanese carmaker is working on making them cleaner and better. It even introduced a new Hilux truck that pairs a diesel engine with a mild-hybrid system to reduce emissions.
Toyota is also experimenting with some pretty cool ideas to keep diesel relevant. One idea is using synthetic diesel, which could be a cleaner alternative. It’s also looking into using hydrogen to power traditional combustion engines. It’s been testing this out on the racetrack with some prototype cars like the GR Yaris and GR Corolla.
Now, you might wonder why Toyota is putting all this effort into keeping diesel and other combustion engines around. Well, Akio Toyoda, the big boss at Toyota, has some interesting thoughts on this. He believes that electric vehicles (EVs) won’t take over the entire car market. Toyoda thinks EVs will make up about 30% of the market, but the rest will still want or need cars powered by gasoline or diesel. That’s why Toyota plans to roll out a whole new family of combustion engines.
However, it’s not all smooth driving for diesel engines. In places like the European Union, where rules about pollution are getting stricter, selling diesel cars is becoming tougher. Last year, diesel cars made up only 13.6% of the market there, which is a drop from the year before. For the first time, EVs outsold diesel cars in the EU. Hybrids and plug-in hybrids are also more popular than diesel cars now. Even so, some hybrids and plug-in hybrids use diesel engines, like the ones from Mercedes-Benz.
But here’s the thing: diesel might be losing ground in places with strict rules, but it’s a different story in emerging markets and for commercial vehicles. In these areas, the regulations are a bit more relaxed, and diesel engines are still in high demand. So, Toyota is betting big on diesel, not just sticking to the old ways but also innovating with new technologies like synthetic fuels and hydrogen — a bold move, especially when the world seems to be shifting toward electric cars.
Toyota’s approach shows that it thinks about all kinds of drivers and all kinds of futures. Diesel might seem like it’s on the way out in some parts of the world, but if Toyota has its way, it’ll be around for a good long while yet.
