As of now, Toyota has yet to release the Avanza hybrid despite having the Innova Cross Hybrid.
However, recently, the opportunity for the Toyota Avanza Hybrid has become more apparent when Anton Jimmi Suwandy, the marketing director of Toyota Indonesia (PT Toyota Astra Motor), revealed that the company is considering the possibilities. The success of the Toyota Innova Cross hybrid – dominating hybrid car sales in Indonesia in 2023 – has opened up great opportunities for the Innova.
The Toyota Avanza is unlikely to “sit still” when the Mitsubishi Xpander HEV is launched. Illustrative photo: Toyota Dealership/Facebook
However, he hesitated to confirm the timing for the release of the hybrid version of this popular car in Indonesia. He only mentioned that Toyota is researching suitable conditions, including consumer demand and government support.
Toyota is very serious about developing hybrid cars in Indonesia specifically and the Southeast Asian market in general. The company has even established a separate team to study this issue. Therefore, it is possible that this team will propose the release of the Toyota Avanza hybrid.
Until now, Toyota has released 3 models with hybrid versions available in Indonesia: Innova Cross, Yaris Cross, and Corolla Cross.
The new Toyota Innova is currently the only mainstream MPV hybrid for the brand in Southeast Asia. Photo: Toyota
Anton also said: “Now we have the Yaris Cross, in the future, we will see which segments need to be supplemented with hybrids.”
The development of hybrid cars by other brands may motivate Toyota to act sooner. Suzuki already has the Ertiga, Honda has the CR-V, and Mitsubishi recently added a hybrid variant to the Xpander. Anton is happy to see the hybrid market becoming more vibrant compared to the past, where Toyota was almost the only player.
