Toyota has sounded the death knell for the internal combustion engine as we know it.
The Japanese manufacturer has outlined plans to phase out traditional petrol and diesel engines from its global line-up by 2040, eschewing those drivetrains for hydrogen fuel cell, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.
Revealed to journalists at a briefing in Tokyo on Thursday, the plan will essentially render traditional petrol and diesel engines obsolete within 23 years, save for selected hybrid applications where an internal combustion engine is paired with an electric motor.
“Around 2040 the very simple gasoline engines or diesel engines are reduced to zero,” said Kiyotaka Ise, president of Toyota’s Advanced R&D and Engineering division.
“They may be used in the form of hybrid vehicles or plug-in hybrid vehicles. So gasoline and diesel engines will be used in the form of those vehicles.”
Electrified powertrains currently comprise 15 per cent of Toyota’s total global sales. Australia is among the lowest take-up markets with only one in 20 Toyotas sold featuring electrification.
However, Toyota anticipates that figure to change drastically as stricter emissions laws are mandated.
The company’s sentiments echo those of Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover, which have also forecasted the death of the internal combustion engine.
Toyota Australia will increase its total hybrid portfolio to eight vehicles by 2020, up from its current offering of five vehicles.