BRUSSELS – Toyota is preparing a new Europe-specific vehicle platform that will accommodate full-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full-electric powertrains, depending on market conditions and customer preference.
The architecture will combine elements of Toyota's global compact platform (GA-C) and the EV-only e-TNGA platform. E3 stands for for emotion, engagement and energy, Toyota Europe says.
Toyota needs a new archtecture for Europe because it will not build vehicles based on the e-TNGA platform in the region, instead importing them from Japan, starting with the bZ4X compact crossover to be launched next year.
The E3 platform will allow the automaker to adjust the powertrain mix of its core products according to customer demand and availability of charging infrastructure,Toyota Motor Europe CEO Matt Harrison said.
"We are convinced that the journey to carbon neutrality will not be only electric, it will be eclectic – that is to say, it will embrace multiple technologies and fuels which all lead to the same destination," Harrison said in an interview with Automotive News Europe.
Toyota will install the E3 platform in its UK and Turkey plants, which already build models based on the GA-C architecture (See table, below). The two plants have a combined total capacity of over 450,000 units a year.