Toyota has slammed other carmakers, accusing them of misleading customers by calling mild-hybrid vehicles “hybrids.” The Japanese automaker says that many new cars which are equipped with 48-volt mild-hybrid systems don’t deserve the hybrid badge because they cannot drive on electric power alone.
According to Carscoops, Sean Hanley, Toyota’s sales and marketing chief in Australia, explained the issue clearly, saying that he has watched hybrid technology being used in different ways in marketing in recent years now, and a 48-volt-assisted system, in their opinion, does not represent hybrid drive.
He says, ” think OEMs have a responsibility to make sure customers are aware of the differences.”
Toyota differentiate between true hybrids, which combine a combustion engine with an electric motor to propel the car and mild-hybrids, where the electric system only assists the engine for small gains in fuel efficiency.
Toyota even markets its 48-volt systems as ‘V Active’ in Australia, intentionally avoiding the ‘hybrid label’. Hanley added that “when you buy a Toyota 48-volt-assisted powertrain that currently exists in Hilux and Land Cruiser Prado, you are not buying a hybrid system. They are not hybrids, not remotely, so we definitely want to separate these three conditions on this technology.”
Interestingly, Toyota itself doesn’t follow the same rule worldwide, while it avoids calling 48-volt cars hybrids in Australia, in Europe the HiLux 48-volt model is promoted as the Hilux Hybrid 48V, showing that marketing language can vary depending on the area.
“Now good luck to people, but Toyota is going to make it very clear what a hybrid system is for efficiency, what a hybrid system is for performance, and what a 48-volt-assisted system is,” Hanley continued explaining.
This debate highlights a bigger question for car buyers, which is are all ‘hybrids’ truly hybrids, or is it just clever marketing? Toyota wants drivers to know exactly what they are getting before spending their money.