Unlike other automakers, Toyota hasn’t rushed to jump on the EV bandwagon. It has taken shy steps toward pure electric vehicles, deciding instead to focus on hybrids. Chairman Akio Toyoda believes pure EVs will never exceed a 30-percent market share, so a zero-emission future is still very much uncertain. However, the Japanese brand has been gradually expanding its no-ICE lineup in recent times, with a pickup now confirmed for 2025.
After unveiling a prototype in late 2022, Toyota says the Hilux Revo BEV will go into production near the end of next year. The important disclosure was made by a company executive in an interview this week with Reuters. The all-electric workhorse is going to be assembled in Thailand where trucks account for more than 50 percent of all sales.
The new Hilux without a combustion engine will rival the electric Isuzu D-Max, which is also going to be assembled in the Southeast Asian country. Toyota mentions its upcoming electric truck will be primarily a Thailand affair but is considering export markets.
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Technical specifications were not disclosed during the interview, but Toyota previously said the range is “around 124 miles,” without specifying the test cycle. The one-off concept with a floor-mounted battery was a single-cab Hilux with a 4×2 setup and a long bed, based on the model sold in Thailand. Toyota Motor Asia’s Executive Vice President, Pras Ganesh, told Reuters that weight is a concern:
“The more range I have to put on it, the more battery I have to put on it, which means the weight of the vehicle also becomes significantly heavier, which means the loading can be much less.”
Of course, 124 miles is less than ideal, especially since we’re talking about a truck that typically carries a heavy load. Hopefully, Toyota’s engineers will find a good balance between avoiding cramming in a huge battery that would hamper practicality while also not resorting to a small battery that would provide a limited range.
Toyota has decided to perform an EV conversion of the current-generation Hilux even though the pickup has been around for nearly a decade. It could mean the existing model is sticking around for a few more years. Alternatively, its replacement might be a heavy refresh rather than a true next-gen truck, so the work done for the electric derivative could be passed on to the ninth-gen model.
2023 Toyota IMV-0 concept
The Hilux Revo BEV is not the only Toyota electric truck we’ve seen in recent years. There was a Tacoma-like pickup at the end of 2021 and an EPU concept at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show. At the same event last year, the company also introduced a small IMV-0 concept serving as a small modular electric pickup.
The IMV-0 has already gone on sale in Thailand but with combustion engines instead. The tiny truck is refreshingly cheap, kicking off at a little over $13,000.