The second-generation Toyota C-HR will arrive in Australia within the first half of 2024, and will likely be provided completely with hybrid energy.
Toyota Australia has additionally confirmed it at the moment has no plans to introduce the plug-in hybrid to the native market, leaving one more PHEV out of attain for Aussies. The corporate has by no means provided PHEV variations of the Prius and RAV4 regionally.
The following C-HR has up to now been previewed solely in idea guise – final 12 months’s C-HR Prologue – and has been confirmed as a hybrid- and PHEV-only providing globally.
That makes it extra of an SUV counterpart to the newest era Prius which has been dominated out for Australia.
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C-HR Prologue idea
The styling of the C-HR Prologue idea additionally exhibits a familial resemblance to the new-generation hatch.
Whereas hybrids make up a majority of gross sales of different fashions regionally just like the RAV4, the following C-HR will likely be solely the second Toyota to be bought right here completely as a hybrid following the now discontinued Prius.
Toyota is aiming for 50 per cent of its gross sales regionally to be of electrified automobiles – together with EVs just like the bZ4X – by 2025. Final 12 months, Toyota bought 72,815 hybrids, accounting for 31.5 per cent of its general gross sales.
The outgoing C-HR is manufactured in Japan, China and Turkey. Australian-spec fashions come from Japan, a part of the explanation we don’t get the extra highly effective 2.0-litre hybrid drivetrain out there in Europe.
The brand new era has additionally been confirmed for Turkish manufacturing, and would be the first PHEV produced at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey. Batteries will likely be produced in-house from December 2023.
Toyota is asking the Turkish enlargement one other stepping stone to Toyota’s objective of 100 per cent CO2 discount of its European automobile line-up by 2035.
As earlier than, the swoopy C-HR will likely be positioned alongside the Corolla Cross within the Small SUV phase, above the smaller Yaris Cross and under the bigger RAV4. Consider it as a Corolla Cross ‘Coupe’.
It’s doubtless the C-HR will characteristic an identical powertrain line-up to the Prius lately launched abroad, together with each 103kW 1.8-litre and 144kW 2.0-litre hybrid choices, and a 164kW 2.0-litre plug-in hybrid.
The brand new Prius PHEV includes a 13.6kWh lithium-ion battery, and in line with preliminary European specs ought to be capable of obtain as much as 69 kilometres of zero-emissions driving.
At the moment, the C-HR’s pricing ranges from $31,715 for the bottom GXL 2WD 1.2L turbo petrol and climbs to $38,465 for the GR Sport and Koba 2WD Hybrids. All costs exclude on-road prices.
As a hybrid-only providing, count on to see a better base worth for the brand new C-HR vary.
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Present C-HR -
The unique C-HR was revealed on the 2016 Geneva Motor Present, and launched in Australia as a petrol-only proposition early in 2017.
A hybrid choice, out there in different markets since launch, didn’t make it to Australia till the mid-life facelift arrived regionally in December 2019.
It stays a stable vendor in Australia regardless of provide points all through its lifecycle, and in 2022 noticed yearly progress of 21.3 per cent to 7977 registrations for the calendar 12 months.
That put Toyota’s coupe crossover forward of the likes of the Honda HR-V (4717 items), Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (5973 items), Suzuki Vitara (3114 items) and Volkswagen T-Roc (3627 items) within the mainstream Small SUV yearly gross sales race.