New Highlander mid-size SUV (U.S.-spec version) (Source: Toyota, Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Proceedings of the 2020 Spring Conference)

  The new U.S.-spec Highlander midsize SUV hybrid model (U.S.-spec version), which Toyota debuted at the New York International Auto Show in April 2019 and has been sold since February 2020, is equipped with the newly developed hybrid transaxle (P810).

  The Spring 2020 Congress of the Japan Society of Automotive Engineers (JSAE) was scheduled to be held in May 2020 but was canceled due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. The JSAE has instead released the technical papers that were scheduled to have been presented during the symposium’s technical sessions. This report introduces new electric powertrain technologies from the following technical papers:

• Development of a New Motor for High Power Hybrid Vehicles by Yuki Tsuchiya (Toyota Motor)
• Development of a New Hybrid Transaxle for Mid-Size SUVs by Yasuteru Yoshikawa (Toyota)

  The electric powertrain in the new Highlander is a new hybrid transaxle for mid-size SUVs that was developed based on the TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture). In addition to the new structure, the motor has evolved to meet the need for high torque and high power, with dual motor cooling, segment conductor (SC) distributed windings for the generator, and parallel connections instead of series connections for the motor and generator.

Related reports:
New Yaris Electric Powertrain (Jul. 2020)
OEM Measures to Expand Sales of SUVs and Pickups in the U.S. (May 2020)
Asian OEM Electrification Strategies, Including EV Product Timelines - Part 1 (Dec. 2019)