Toyota plans compact platform for three drivetrains

Toyota is developing a new compact vehicle architecture intended to accommodate full hybrid, plug-in hybrid and purely electric drive. The basis is designed for the compact segment and is intended to enable different body styles such as SUVs, sedans and minivans. Development chief Hiroki Nakajima presented the approach at Toyota’s European headquarters in Brussels. The main reason is flexibility: depending on region and year, sales teams expect different demand for electric cars, plug-in hybrids and conventional hybrids.

Flatter technology for more room to maneuver

The common denominator of the new architecture is a lower installation height for key components. A lower engine creates space under the hood, while a flatter battery makes it easier to design the floor, seating position and roofline. Toyota links this with the aim of building lower cars with usable interior space while also improving aerodynamics, consumption and range. The new Corolla in particular is expected to benefit from the flatter battery arrangement.

• For combustion engines, Toyota is using a new 1.5-liter four-cylinder as a naturally aspirated and turbocharged engine, as well as a 2.0-liter turbo for more powerful variants.
• To reduce installation height, the developers shorten the stroke; fuel consumption and emissions behavior are intended to at least maintain the previous level.
• According to Toyota, the 1.5-liter naturally aspirated engine could take over the duties of today’s engines from 1.5 to 2.0 liters, while the turbo could also cover those of a 2.5-liter.
• The hybrid system is intended to be more compact than, for example, in the current RAV4; on the electric side, Toyota is working on smaller e-axles.
• In prismatic lithium-ion cells, the tabs move from the top to the side. Toyota cites around 20 percent less installation height and about 20 percent better space utilization.

Toyota does not promise more range from this battery measure. The advantage lies mainly in limiting the reduction of interior space despite a lower roofline. In cell technology, Toyota is initially sticking with today’s lithium-ion batteries; Nakajima referred to high investments in this technology that first have to pay off. He confirmed the solid-state battery being developed in parallel for 2027, but that does not mean it has yet been directly announced for the compact segment.

Launch timing remains open

Toyota has not yet named a market launch for the new platform. Nakajima only indicated that a new hybrid generation is expected around 2030; he did not confirm whether the flatter battery will also be used then. The strategy can help Toyota absorb shifting demand with a common technical basis. What remains open, however, is how large the compromises in weight, packaging and cost will be, and which production model will use the architecture first.