UMW Toyota Motor invites Malaysians to 'experience tomorrow, today' as it gears up for big announcement on 27 September

A couple of months on from confirming its plans to build hybrid electric vehicles in Malaysia, UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) has hinted that these plans will be revealed in full on 27 September 2021. 

The carmaker invites Malaysians 'on a journey that will give them the opportunity to experience a part of the future, today', citing buzzwords like silence, energy, endurance and power, all of which can be used to describe the benefits of hybridisation or electrification in general. 

"At the risk of not revealing too much, let me just say we will be making a detailed announcement about this very soon, and it will have a big impact not only on the brand but the industry as a whole," said Akio Takeyama, deputy chairman of UMWT. 

Takeyama adds that these latest efforts are in line with Toyota Motor Corporation's global commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. 

UMWT has reportedly invested RM270 million in its current manufacturing operations and facility, which includes the plant in Bukit Raja, Selangor which was built to the tune of RM2 billion, as part of its mass electrification efforts. The model that looks most primed for hybridisation in UMWT’s domestic product line-up is the Corolla Cross, which is already offered as a Hybrid in neighbouring Thailand. 

Care to guess what other Toyotas will go down the hybrid route?