Toyota, Ford, Mitsubishi not expecting electrified utes soon

Thursday, 1 December 2022

Mitsubishi is ‘completely certain’ a hybrid Triton won’t emerge in 2023.

Hybrid utes from the ‘big three’ manufacturers – Toyota, Ford and Mitsubishi – are still a little while away, with 2025 looking like the year to circle as the Clean Car Standard’s implementation looms.

A recent story from Newsroom claimed that Mitsubishi advised Police that a hybrid diesel Triton won’t be available “until next year”. Considering Mitsubishi hasn’t yet announced the next generation of Triton, Stuff contacted the local arm for confirmation.

Rumour has it the plug-in Triton might use a similar powertrain as the Outlander.

Reece Congdon, head of marketing and corporate affairs for Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand, said: “To be honest, I’m not sure where some of the comments featured in the Newsroom article have come from. While we are working closely with our colleagues in Japan on electrifying our range, I can say with complete certainty that a PHEV Triton will not be available in 2023.”

In fact, the next-generation of Triton is still being kept heavily under wraps until its debut, expected sometime in 2023, possibly even in early 2024.

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Ford won’t have an electrified Ranger in its line-up for a few years at least.

Details are scarce, but comments from Mitsubishi Australia have hinted at the new ute eschewing a V6, unlike Ford’s latest Ranger and the upcoming Volkswagen Amarok, and including a plug-in hybrid powertrain aped from the Outlander PHEV. It remains to be seen if that will continue with the petrol engine or go diesel.

Considering the plug-in Triton will likely be the range-topper (if, of course, those rumours are accurate), a local launch date of around 2025 is a reasonable guess.

It also pays to mention the new Triton will form the basis of the next Nissan Navara.

Meanwhile, Toyota’s CEO, Neeraj Lala, has confirmed Toyota wants to deliver fewer Hiluxes until a more sustainable alternative is available, which will also help alleviate supply issues.

'We will deliver to customers or firms that really need a Hilux for a specific purpose. We have already been successful in converting large fleet owners to move their people from diesel utes to hybrid SUVs.'

Back in 2021, Lala said that “we do not have any plans for a battery electric Hilux in our line-up in the next 18 – 24 months,” which would put a fully electric ute from Toyota arriving around 2024 at the earliest.

This week, Toyota announced a new CO2 reduction target of a minimum of 46% compared to 2019 levels, based on the science behind the UN Paris Agreement’s 1.5C pathway. The reduction will also help the company achieve its goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050 and will be achieved “through a balanced portfolio of products.”

Finally, Ford New Zealand told Stuff that there is “no news regarding an electrified Ranger for New Zealand”, which means it’s a few years away at least.

Ford was spotted testing what looked to be a plug-in hybrid Ranger in 2021, possibly sporting a turbocharged 2.3-litre petrol four-cylinder with a single electric motor to generate 270kW and 680Nm of torque. However, we haven’t seen anything more on that front since then.

An all-electric model might also be in the works, which could ride on a shrunken version of the F-150 Lightning’s platform. In any case, Ford previously confirmed its global commercial range – which includes Ranger – will be “zero-emissions capable” by 2024.