Toyota’s the hybrid leader. So where are its hybrids?

The new Toyota LandCruiser Prado, aka the LandCruiser 250 Series, has been revealed with a new turbocharged hybrid powertrain.

It’s conspicuously absent from the company’s local details, though.

Instead, Toyota Australia will stick with a diesel-only line-up. Does diesel still sell in this segment? You bet. But should Toyota be walking the walk on hybrids across its line-up? Absolutely.

Embarrassingly for Toyota, which put hybrid technology on the map in Australia, it’s set to be beaten to market with a hybrid off-roader by GWM.

Not only that, GWM is set to introduce a hybrid ute by the end of the year, and yet there’s no hybrid HiLux to be seen – there is one with a 48V mild-hybrid system, but Toyota is wisely avoiding calling it a hybrid.

There’s a hybrid version of the new, left-hand drive-only Tacoma, while to Toyota’s credit it has all but confirmed the hybrid Tundra for a local launch. And yet GWM will have two, potentially three body-on-frame, hybrid-powered vehicles within the next 12 months, and Toyota looks set to have perhaps one.

This is the same company that was slow to introduce its hybrid crossovers in Australia.

It had a hybrid version of its Kluger/Highlander all the way back in 2005, but it took until 2021 for one to appear here. The RAV4 Hybrid, which accounts for the lion’s share of RAV4 sales, was introduced with the fourth-generation model abroad but only appeared here with the current, fifth generation.

It’s baffling because hybrids now account for a significant chunk of Toyota sales in Australia, to the point where waiting lists are blowing out.

Last year, hybrids accounted for 67 per cent of Kluger sales, 75 per cent of Yaris Cross sales, 76 per cent of RAV4 sales, 77 per cent of Corolla Cross sales, and 80 per cent of Camry sales.

Should the HiLux, Prado and LandCruiser 300 Series gain hybrid options here, we might expect these take rates to be a bit lower – particularly if they can’t match the towing capacity of the equivalent diesel models.

But it’s entirely possible that, as the benefits of hybrids are recognised in these segments, take rates could increase rapidly.

There are also looming federal emissions standards, presaged by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ voluntary standard. Hybrid versions of big diesel Toyotas could help drive down emissions for Australia’s new car parc, given Toyota’s juggernaut status Down Under.

Alas, by bringing the Prado here only as a diesel, Toyota is missing out on the opportunity to show an entirely new segment of buyers how a fuel-sipping hybrid – the same technology it loudly touts as helping bring down emissions – could work for them.

Instead, it’ll be GWM – a brand that introduced its first hybrid in Australia only around a year ago – which will be helping to pave the way for market acceptance of big hybrid utes and SUVs.

Not only could GWM end up leading in those hybrid segments with the absence of a direct rival from Toyota, it could siphon off sales – along with other brands like Honda and Nissan – from the segments in which Toyota does already offer a hybrid, particularly if supply shortages continue to bite.

Oh what a feeling.