BHP strikes “electrification” deal with Toyota, but is it going hybrid or electric?

Mining giant BHP and Toyota Australia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) about decarbonisation, but questions remain about how BHP will electrify their fleet of light vehicles with the Japanese car manufacturer. 

According to a press release from the two companies, the MoU is in place to help support BHP to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030, as well as collaborate on a “decarbonisation” journey map.

“At the heart of our efforts to decarbonise our operations is an ambition to electrify our fleet of 5,000 light vehicles in Australia,” says BHP President Australia, Geraldine Slattery. 

“Collaborating with leading suppliers like Toyota shows our clear commitment to developing shared solutions for a safer and more sustainable future.”

But what exactly does “electrification” mean in this case. Toyota, like other Japanese car brands have largely eschewed the full battery electric market, choosing to focus on mild hybrids for their “electrification” journey.

Toyota has not yet released any fully electric vehicles in Australia, although it says it plans to launch three EV models in the next three years. One of these is the bZ4X SUV, which has been plagued with issues overseas. 

Toyota instead have focused on hybrid vehicles, which now make up 31.5% of new vehicles sold from the company. 

TheDriven reached out to Toyota to ask whether the vehicles that would be used to electrify the BHP fleet would be hybrid, as well as timelines for this process. The company said it would provide no further details.

BHP has recently announced it would replace its fleet of diesel haul trucks with electric, arguing that they will be cheaper and lower emissions than diesel or hydrogen fuel cells, another big play of the Japanese car makers.

It has also been trialling Toyota land cruisers that have been converted to fully electric. It’s even installed a Tritium charging station at one of its coal mines (Pictured above). It is not clear what its strategy will now be with those vehicles, particularly in underground mining areas. BHP did not respond to The Driven’s questions.

It’s worth noting that despite efforts to lower its carbon emissions through announcements of electric trains, and renewables in the Pilbara, coal still made up a quarter of BHPs profits in 2022.

Toyota has also been in hot water for its ‘go-slow’ strategy on the transition to electric vehicles, which has impacted their ability to sell in bigger EV markets like China.