Take one look at the new Toyota Hilux Revo BEV Concept pickup and it’s pretty clear it’s not a Tacoma or a Tundra. But it’s all electric. Many of us are waiting for a new all-electric Tacoma or Tundra to compete with the Ford F-150 Lightning and Silverado EV, but this little Hilux certainly won’t be that truck. However, it shows that no matter how reluctant Toyota seems to make an EV pickup, it’s actually making an EV pickup, even if it’s for Southeast Asia.
The new Hilux Revo Concept is not for the US market.
The new Hilux Revo Concept was unveiled at an event in Thailand to celebrate Toyota’s 60 years of manufacturing and selling cars and trucks there. Basically, a three-seat, single-cab city car concept will be produced. It will be Toyota’s first all-electric truck when it launches in late 2023 or early 2024, according to Toyota President Akio Toyoda, who announced the HiLux Revo Concept.
New details about range, power or towing capacity were not disclosed. Southeast Asian Toyota Hilux vans have either a 201 horsepower gasoline engine or a small diesel. They’re not the fancy powerhouses the company makes for the US market, like the Tacoma and Tundra, by comparison, but they get the job done. In the case of this truck, it looks like a normal Hilux, but with a charging port and a specific grill for electric vehicles.
Toyoda is taking a realistic approach to building electric vehicles.
Toyoda said in his comments that he is not sure there will be an all-electric line in Toyota’s immediate future. He also said that the company continues to explore other types of engines, including hydrogen.
“I think we need to be realistic about when society will be able to fully embrace battery electric vehicles and when our infrastructure will be able to support them at scale,” Toyoda said at the event. He said Toyota is also focusing on other ways to reduce its carbon footprint, including exploring hydrogen options.
Will there be a new electric Toyota Tacoma pickup soon?
Although this video is not in English, it shows great views of the new Toyota electric truck for Southeast Asia.
Many of us hope Toyota will produce a new electric version of the Tacoma or Tundra soon. America’s Big Three, Ram, Ford and General Motors, have launched or will launch new EV trucks soon. The F-150 Lightning has caught on and is a bestseller for Ford. Chevy and GMC are seeing orders for their Silverado EV and Sierra EV trucks soar, while Ram is expected to show off its new Revolution EV truck in early 2023.
A new electric Tacoma has been anticipated, but that truck is likely still years away as Toyota charts its EV future in the US. Toyota’s Tacoma pickup and 4Runner SUV are getting old. They’re still good trucks, but it looks like Toyota is aiming to build an EV version of a truck soon. The company hasn’t said much, and it may not even be a Tacoma, but something that falls between its midsize Tacoma and full-size Tundra pickups.