Raize Hybrid: Daihatsu Rocky e-Smart Hybrid launched in SE Asia, PH next?

Around four years ago, Toyota revealed the e-Smart Hybrid system for the Raize. Unlike typical parallel hybrid systems wherein the engine and electric motor work together, the e-Smart Hybrid system works as a series hybrid.

In this configuration, the 1.2L engine only serves as a generator that recharges a small capacity lithium-ion battery pack, which powers an electric motor that puts out 106 and 170 Nm of torque. Think of the e-Smart Hybrid as Toyota's answer to Nissan's e-Power system, which works in a similar manner. This gives the Raize e-Smart Hybrid EV-like acceleration and performance without the dreaded range anxiety associated with typical battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

Fast forward years later, the Daihatsu Rocky e-Smart Hybrid has been revealed, and it gets the same e-Smart Hybrid system as the Toyota Raize. Even better is the fact that the electrified crossover has arrived in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia being the first market to get it.

Revealed at the 2025 Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS), the Daihatsu Rocky Hybrid gets a 1.2L three-cylinder engine that serves as a generator for a lithium-ion battery pack. This, in turn, powers a front electric motor that drives the wheels and makes 106 with 170 Nm of torque. Since it doesn't have a transmission, the Rocky Hybrid delivers EV-like acceleration but comes with an onboard charger via the 1.2L engine.

Daihatsu claims the Rocky e-Smart Hybrid is capable of averaging 3.6L per 100 km or up to 27.8 km/L. This makes the tiny electrified crossover as efficient as the Nissan Kicks e-Power and even some of BYD's DM-i PHEV models. Style-wise, the Rocky e-Smart Hybrid looks almost the same as a regular Rocky apart from the blue halo in its badges.

Also worth noting is the fact that, unlike the ICE Raize and Rock, which have a four-lug pattern, the e-Smart Hybrid gets a five-lug pattern in its wheels. This could have been done to better manage the power being produced by the electric motor.

For now, the unit Daihatsu showed in Indonesia is a completely-built unit (CBU) from Japan. However, we won't be surprised if Daihatsu will soon begin local production in Indonesia since they already have an extensive factory in the country. The bigger question now is, will we see the Toyota Raize e-Smart Hybrid arrive in other Southeast Asian markets like the Philippines in the future?