Toyota Levin gets a new life in China with all-new PHEV model

MANILA: Unlike in Japan, the Toyota Levin is still one of the household names in China. The coupe sports a stylish design, much like the Toyota Corolla. At the Beijing Auto Show, Toyota displayed the electric variant of the Toyota Levin, which will be coming as a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

Last year only, Toyota announced its plan to sell more than 5 million electrified cars every year by 2030. It seems pretty clear that the Toyota think-tank knows the Chinese market can significantly contribute help them a lot in achieving the number. We can even expect them to be bringing these electrified versions along with the Levin in the Philippines as well.

The new Toyota Levin is expected to be powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine, though these are just speculations as for now. The Levin Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHEV), as Toyota claims, can run up to 50 km solely on battery power. This 1.8-litre Atkinson engine will come paired with a dual motor generator driver system.

The Levin gets a number of styling touches when it comes to the looks. The front bumper follows the same path as the company’s current design language offering wide air intakes. The headlights also look pretty dashing, which seems to be inspired by that of the redesigned Yaris.

The same event also witnessed Toyota launching a PHEV variant for the Corolla as well. As per the company, both the cars will share the same drive system and powertrain. Both the Levin and the Corolla PHEV will be the first models with a hybrid plug-in powertrain to be produced outside of Japan. Without a doubt, this move from Toyota has given a completely new life to the veteran Levin.