Make better cars, reduce costs, and increase profitability is why Toyota has announced a new modular platform – the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) – designed for their compact cars and large, front-wheel-drive models cars.
Of course, like all the big players, Toyota already employs modular platforms, but the TGNA will push the boundaries in terms of sharing “lighter, more compact” components and a new, “much higher efficiency” powertrain family.
The TGNA platform, says Toyota, will allow for a lower-mounted powertrain and therefore spawn cars with the lowest centre of gravity of any mainstream rival. They’ve also focused on reducing the weight and size of certain components, while increasing overall body rigidity by as much as 30%-65% thanks to higher strength materials and new laser welding techniques.
The new powertrains will, overall, be 25% more efficient and 15% more powerful. It’s likely that the first car to be underpinned by the new TGNA will be the next-generation Prius due for launch later this year. For its hybrid system, Toyota is targeting a 15% increase fuel efficiency by way of a revised drive unit layout and smaller electric motors, inverters and batteries.
Toyota is also developing a new rear-wheel-drive model platform – to be used primarily by their luxury car division, Lexus.
By 2020, says Toyota, half the vehicles it sells worldwide will use the new platforms.
