Japanese Revolution! Toyota's New Engines Could Destroy Electric Cars

Japanese Revolution! Toyota's New Engines COULD TAKE DOWN Electric Cars

Written by Alisson Ficher

Published 15/06/2024 às 18:15

Japanese Revolution! Toyota's New Engines COULD TAKE DOWN Electric Cars. (Image: reproduction)

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Recently, it would be difficult to believe that car manufacturers would continue investing in new combustion engines. Therefore, with the wave of electrification promising the extinction of these propellants, the announcement that Toyota, Mazda and Subaru are developing a surprising new generation of engines.

However, for experts, this initiative makes sense, as a future combining combustion engines with electric propulsion, so-called hybridization, is in sight. This is because full electrification has proven less viable than many futurists predicted.

In this sense, while some manufacturers have completely surrendered to electrification, others, such as Toyota, Mazda and Subaru, demonstrate resistance, betting on hybrids that eliminate the need for electrical recharging to run.

The advantages of hybrid engines

Hybrid vehicles offer many advantages, the main one being the ability to operate without the need for recharging, both for conventional and plug-in hybrids. The latter have rechargeable batteries in the socket, but can only run on the combustion engine if necessary.

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New projects and technologies

The announcement of the partnership between Toyota, Mazda and Subaru, despite having been made some time ago, gained details recently, with the manufacturers presenting prototypes of the new engines and plans in line with their traditions.

Currently, Toyota is investing in new four-cylinder engines, Mazda returns to rotary engines (Wankel) and Subaru maintains its boxer with horizontally opposed cylinders.

These new combustion engines are not mere evolutions of existing models, but rather revolutionary.

All of them will be hybridized, combining advanced technologies for greater efficiency and lower emissions. According to data from Toyota, around 70% of vehicles with combustion engines will continue to be in use until 2030.

The experts' word

In an interview with the “UOL” portal, Cleber Willian Gomes, who is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Ignatian Educational Foundation (FEI), reports that the evolution of combustion engines is continuous, with decisive innovations for greater energy efficiency, reduction of pollutants and increased performance.

In this sense, he highlights the use of electronic systems and artificial intelligence in engine management, in addition to other technologies such as direct fuel injection, variable control, turbochargers and nanotechnology materials.

Toyota's new engines

Toyota is the only one of the three companies mentioned in the article installed in Brazil. According to the “UOL” portal, the company is developing two new engines: a 1.5 (aspirated or turbo) and a 2.0. The new 1.5 three-cylinder engine should be adopted in the country in the new Yaris Cross, promising greater economy and power.

For Toyota, the development of these engines is justified due to the strict emissions laws foreseen for Europe and the United States, which would require significant reductions in power and the adoption of expensive catalysts.

Therefore, the new 2.0 turbo engine, which will replace the current 2.4 turbo, will offer 30% more performance and 10% less volume, being associated with hybrid systems.

These engines, which will run on both fossil fuels and carbon-neutral alternatives, are expected to arrive in Brazil in the near future., driven by the federal government's Mover program, which encourages the production of more efficient and less polluting vehicles.

Subaru and the New Boxer

Subaru, famous for its boxer engines with opposed cylinders, has developed the new generation e-boxer, a four-cylinder hybrid that works in conjunction with a system of two electric motors. This arrangement offers three operating modes, combining the combustion engine and electric engines to optimize efficiency and performance.

Production of the new e-boxer will begin at the new factory in Kitamoto, Japan, from September. Subaru maintains the tradition of all-wheel drive, with the new hybrid system ensuring that the rear axle is always working.

Mazda and the Wankel Engine

Mazda, known for its eccentricity, resumes the development of the Wankel engine, a rotary engine with a compact and lightweight design. This now omnivorous engine can run on a variety of fuels, including ethanol, biofuels, vegetable diesel, synthetic fuel, methane and hydrogen.

Ichiro Hirose, director and head of technology at Mazda, says that the new rotary engine is a bet to transform its uniqueness into an advantage, meeting new environmental regulations with the help of hybridization.

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