An electric Toyota LandCruiser is on the way, but maybe not the one you’re thinking of.
International sustainable energy company Vivopower has done a five-year deal with Toyota Australia to develop an all-electric version of the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series using conversion kits from its subsidiary Tembo.
This deal has nothing to do with plans for an electrified version of the next-gen Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, which has just broken cover with an all-new twin-turbo diesel V6 engine for Australia, but is eventually expected to become available with hybrid and full-electric powertrains – the latter likely to be a hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle.
A prototype battery-electric Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series has been on trial at a BHP nickel mine in Western Australia since early 2021. The converted vehicle is deployed underground and requires no diesel fuel to run.
Until now Vivopower had not been officially named as part of the project, with Toyota Australia attributing development work to its own product planning and development department in Port Melbourne.
But Vivopower has now signed a letter of intent with Toyota Australia, which it says will serve as the basis for the Master Services Agreement that will govern their co-operation.
“Final terms of the MSA are under negotiation, but upon completion, it is intended that VivoPower would become Toyota Australia’s exclusive partner for Landcruiser 70 electrification for a period of five years, with a further two-year option (seven years in total),” the Vivopower statement read.
No mention of build numbers or sales plans were outlined in the media release.
Issued overnight by a UK PR firm, the Vivopower statement appeared to take Toyota Australia somewhat by surprise, with no announcement of its own issued concurrently.
Vivopower says it has expertise in electric vehicles, solar systems, critical power supply and battery technology. It has divisions based in the USA, Europe and Australia.
It was initially founded in Australia in 2014 as a rooftop solar company but moved its headquarters to the UK in 2016 and floated on NASDAQ later the same year. It acquired Tembo e-LV and became involved in electric vehicles in October 2020.
“We are extremely pleased to be collaborating with Toyota Motor Company Australia, part of the world’s largest original equipment manufacturer on the electrification of their LandCruiser vehicles with our Tembo conversion kits,” said Kevin Chin, Executive Chairman and CEO of VivoPower.
“The LandCruiser is the vehicle of choice worldwide for mining and other ruggedized industries. This partnership with Toyota Australia is a testament to the outstanding potential of Tembo’s technology to decarbonize transportation in some of the world’s toughest and hardest to decarbonize industries.
“More importantly, it is a tremendous opportunity for us to work directly with Toyota Australia to optimize the Tembo product and deliver it to more customers around the world, helping them to achieve their net zero carbon objectives in the process.”
This is not the first time Vivopower has done a deal to electrify Toyotas involved in mining duties. Only days ago it announced a deal with a Canadian industrial equipment distributor to electrify more than 1600 HiLux and LandCruiser vehicles by 2026 using Tembo’s e-LV conversion kit.
At this stage there's no word on whether the 70 Series EV will become available outside the mining industry.