TNZ tight-lipped on why hottest model in new line-up won’t join mild hybrid choices.

WHY plug-in hybrid technology that has become a headline feature of the new C-HR will not feature in the compact Toyota in New Zealand is not being shared.

Palmerston North Toyota New Zealand will also not say if the breakthrough drivetrain, which shares with the new Prius - also not set for local sale - will ever be made available to Kiwis.

“Unfortunately, we are not in a position to disclose this information at this point in time,” a TNZ spokesperson said today. 

The next-generation C-HR was unveiled internationally on June 26 but TNZ took until the end of last week to acknowledge that it is coming.

However, the four versions restrict to the same kind of mild-hybrid drivetrain  that featured in the current car is and common to a lot of other Toyota passenger models. 

Three models will deliver from early next year with a 1.8-litre engine and a GR Sport will come with a 2.0-litre powertrain.

The new PHEV also associates with a 2.0-litre petrol, but unlike the mild hybrids enables pure electric driving.

The 13.8kWh lithium-ion battery can provide 66 kilometres of pure electric driving range and can fully recharge in 2.5 hours via a 7kW AC charger. 

The cited output of 166kW makes this edition the most powerful version of the C-HR - shorthand for ‘compact high rider’ - but it’s delivering oomph with Green intent, with Toyota claiming CO2 emissions of 19g grams per kilometre on the WLTP cycle.

Regular hybrid versions of the C-HR will continue. While TNZ says it will not release local market details until closer to launch, the parent has already said the entry powertrain has a 70kW electric motor to provide a total output of 134kW. 

That marks an increase in performance over the 1.8-litre hybrid presently familiar to Kiwis. That unit use a 72kW/142Nm 1.8 litre petrol engine, and with a motor chiming in peak output is 90kW.

The GR Sport appears set to have a power output of 147kW while still matching the combined fuel consumption of the 1.8 Hybrid at 4.8-5.0 litres/100km. CO2 output lifts to 107 grams per kilometre.

In some markets the 2.0-litre mild hybrid - but not the PHEV - pairs with an additional electric motor on the rear axle to create an all-wheel-drive transmission that Toyota calls AWD-i. The system provides added traction when pulling away and driving on slippery surfaces.

TNZ has done well with hybrids - notably the versions of the RAV4 - during the initial phase of Clean Car, but rebates for all but two of them ended on July 1 and some are now facing penalty.

The support for plug-in hybrid cars has also lessened, however the technology has been reasonably well-supported - the sector leader, Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand, has done well with the PHEV Eclipse Cross and Outlander. TNZ has also shown interest; it battled for some time to secure a PHEV RAV4. Market trends suggest there would be ready consumer acceptance for a C-HR with that treatment.

There has been conjecture that, were denial of the PHEV C-HR a decision made by Toyota Japan, TNZ might still be able to access it via the Signature Class used import programme, which from September is purely hybrid-focused. Questions about the potential of that went unanswered today.