Toyota to start EV pickup production in Asia this year

Late last year, Toyota Motors Thailand Co. Ltd. (TMT) revealed the Hilux Revo BEV concept at its 60^th anniversary. It is an electric pickup truck concept with zero emissions and uses a single-cab chassis of the beloved Hilux. It also made an appearance during the 2023 Bangkok International Motor Show earlier this year.

Recently, at the New Management Policy & Direction Announcement of Toyota Motor Company, executive vice-president Yoichi Miyazaki details the marque’s plans regarding battery initiatives in various regions of the world.

Apart from the production of a new three-row SUV in the US by 2025 using batteries made in North Carolina and the Chinese launch of two models – apart from the bZ4X and bZ3 – using locally made batteries, Asia and other emerging markets will see the “local production of the battery EV pickup trucks and will also launch a small battery EV model” by the end of the year.

While there is the EV Hilux that uses hydrogen fuel-cell technology, that is still a work in progress in the United Kingdom, which is certainly not in Asia and is not an emerging market.

The most feasible model Miyazaki is talking about is the Toyota Hilux Revo BEV concept. It was made by TMT, which is in Asia and will supply emerging markets like ours. More importantly, it is a fully electric vehicle (EV) that charges through the port on the front side panel, not hydrogen-powered, which is still scarce in our neck of the woods.

The exact specifications of the model are still under wraps, but the chassis it shares with the regular Hilux is modified to fit electric motors and batteries. The unit revealed by Chairman of the Board Akio Toyoda last December looks very close to a finished product and might only need a few tweaks before it hits line production.

Do you think a fully battery-electric Hilux, albeit with a Revo badge, satisfies your needs and function as well as its predecessor?