√New 2025 Toyota HiAce van to adopt electric power

Australia’s best-selling commercial van could soon become a zero-emissions vehicle, with an electric Toyota people-mover potentially not far behind.

Drive Car of the Year Best Van 2021 finalist Toyota Hiace rear label close-up

The next Toyota HiAce could debut in 2025 with an electric powertrain, according to industry rumours – but it’s unclear if it would replace, or be sold alongside today’s diesel-powered van.

Japan’s Best Car is reporting the next-generation HiAce will become a battery-electric vehicle when it launches in 2025, based on Toyota’s electric e-TNGA platform used beneath the BZ4X SUV.

The publication suggests the new van would be positioned as a successor to the previous-generation ‘H200’ series HiAce, a van which recently celebrated its 18th birthday – yet remains available in Japan.

The H200-generation van was axed in Australia in 2019, and replaced by a new ‘H300’ model also sold across a number of developing countries in Southeast Asia – but not in Japan.

While the electric Mercedes-Benz eVito is due in 2022 and the Ford E-Transit van is expected to land in local showrooms in early 2023, it’s not yet clear whether Australia will get its hands on the battery-powered HiAce.

However, given commercial vehicles typically follow a 10-year lifespan – and the ‘H300’ HiAce launched in 2019 – the new electric HiAce would likely remain in showrooms alongside the diesel-powered H300 for the first few years of its lifespan.

Best Car reports the ‘H400’ zero-emissions HiAce may initially be sold in Japan alongside the ageing ‘H200’ van – essentially leapfrogging the H300 in Toyota’s home country

Sitting atop the aforementioned e-TNGA platform – shared with the Toyota BZ4X and Subaru Solterra – the electric HiAce will reportedly adopt a longer nose for improved safety and ergonomics, similar to the model currently on sale here – but unlike the 2005-era model, where the front occupants effectively sit on top of the engine.

Like the BZ4X/Solterra twins, the battery-powered HiAce could use a 150kW/265Nm electric motor on its front axle, though its lighter weight means it may offer a much greater driving range than 500km.

Best Car reports Toyota is working on a revival of the 1980s TownAce van and people mover badge – but rather than a version of the new electirc HiAce, it would be a sibling to the Japanese-market Toyota Noah and Voxy people movers.

The publication says the new TownAce may offer hybrid and electric options – as Toyota looks to defend the segment against the electric ID Buzz from old rival Volkswagen, as well as battery-powered newcomers such as the Zeekr 009, which is expected to offer a driving range of 1000km.

In Australia, Toyota offers the Granvia people mover, a passenger-oriented, luxury version of the H300 HiAce van.

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