New Toyota Kluger delayed

The next-generation Toyota Kluger is running late.

Revealed at the New York motor show in April, the all-new fourth-generation Toyota Kluger seven-seat family SUV has been released in the US and was expected to arrive in Australia in 2020.

Indeed it was one of five new hybrid models Toyota Australia promised in August 2018 to release over the next 30 months (so by February 2021), also including the C-HR, RAV4 and upcoming Corolla sedan and new Yaris.

Since then Toyota Australia has released the RAV4 hybrid, confirmed an update and hybrid for the C-HR as well as the new Corolla/hybrid by year’s end, and said the new Yaris, which will come with hybrid power for the first time, will arrive here in the first half of next year.

Now Toyota has indicated the new Kluger may not touch down on Aussie terra firma until 2021, and it may not be available with hybrid power form launch.

"Our launch plan is still not confirmed for next year," said Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia's vice-president of sales and marketing.

"We're working through a number of product plans and specifications, but we haven’t confirmed its launch next year. When we get closer we'll certainly talk about Kluger, it's an exciting car.

"Whether it comes out with hybrid on launch, we're yet to confirm that," said Hanley.

Built on the Japanese brand's new TNGA-K platform architecture, the new Toyota Kluger brings serious infotainment and technology firepower, along with more driver aids, improved safety, more interior room and a fresh new look that tips its hat to the Toyota RAV4.

Boasting a sizable 12.3-inch infotainment screen, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto built in, the car will offer a panoramic sunroof, seating for up to eight passengers, a digital head-up display, LED headlights and Toyota's Safety Sense 2.0 package that adds automatic acceleration, braking, steering, road sign recognition and more besides.

The vehicle's 3.5-litre V6 has also been boosted to 220kW and will be hooked up to an eight-speed transmission.

The hybrid version of the new Toyota Kluger is powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine augmented by two electric motors and a small battery. Combined output is 180kW with fuel consumption claimed to be just 6.9L/100km.

For the first time, the Kluger hybrid was confirmed for right-hand drive production for markets including Australia, and it's this that may be complicating the launch timing for Toyota Australia.

To provide some context, sales demand for the Toyota RAV4 hybrid have exceeded supply. Toyota underestimated the popularity of the petrol-electric models and there's now an eight-month waiting list for some RAV4 hybrid variants.

Toyota is understood to be reassessing the percentage of hybrid Kluger models it orders from the US factory to avoid the same issue, and this may be contributing to the delay of the hybrid version, without which Toyota might not want to launch a large new petrol V6-powered SUV.

Given the Corolla hatch and Camry already have hybrid options and the Prius family is the Japanese brand’s hybrid icon, it would be the only Toyota model not based on a ladder chassis (apart from the 86 and Supra sports car) unavailable with hybrid power.

"Going forward I've made clear we'll expand our hybrids across the Toyota range," said Hanley.

"Again, we haven’t got confirmed plans for a Kluger hybrid at this point but we're certainly looking at every opportunity to bring that car to market at some point in the future."

In 2018 the Toyota Kluger was the second-best selling large SUV in its class (only the Toyota Prado found more homes) and Toyota says its hybrid offerings are crucial to the company’s future growth.

Hanley said he expects Toyota Australia to sell more than 200,000 cars this year and again in 2020, but he reckons the mix of hybrids will be much higher – up from 12 to 20 per cent by 2020 – as customers seek to reduce their fuel bills and environmental impact.

"Today the [hybrid] mix is 12 per cent. If we had better supply we'd be closer to 20 per cent right now. But we're on target to hit that goal by end of 2020."