Initially slow on its uptake of electric vehicles, Toyota is now starting to add more battery-powered models to its lineup, and it surprised some by announcing the HiLux BEV will be its latest addition.
Revealed alongside the new turbo-diesel HiLux last week, the Toyota HiLux BEV is coming to Australia in 2026 with mining customers in mind, though it could find a place among other businesses and maybe even a small handful of private buyers.
However, it’ll do so with the cards stacked against it from the get-go, as its on-paper figures make it seem not as appealing as a number of other electric rivals.
Previously Isuzu has said its D-Max EV will come to Australia, while the LDV eTerron 9 is also expected to come here in 2026. The JAC T9 EV is also currently being used in mining and is under evaluation for a wider launch.
Powering the HiLux BEV is a dual-motor drivetrain, combined to produce 144kW and 474Nm. That’s slightly up on the 130kW rear-drive T9 EV and all-wheel drive 140kW D-Max EV, but down on both the rear- (200kW) and all-wheel drive (325kW) versions of the eTerron 9.
Toyota announced the HiLux BEV will be fed by a 59.2kWh lithium-ion battery pack with a claimed driving range of 240km on the WLTP lab test cycle, short of the D-Max EV’s 263km figure thanks to its 66.9kWh battery pack, 330km in the T9 EV (88kWh) and 430km for the LDV (102kWh).
The HiLux will be capable of being charged at up to 125kW DC, significantly higher than the D-Max EV’s 50kW rate and the T9 EV’s 88kW figure, and just ahead of the eTerron 9 which boasts a 115kW claim, as well as vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability.
Perhaps the most stark difference between the HiLux BEV and its electric rivals is its hauling figures, specifically its towing and payload capacities.
Figures from Toyota Europe’s “pre-homologation data” indicated the HiLux BEV will have a payload capacity of 715kg, and a braked towing capacity of 1600kg – well down on the circa 1000kg payload and 3500kg towing figures standard across all of Australia’s top-selling turbo-diesel utes.
The Isuzu D-Max EV overseas has a payload capacity of 1000kg and a braked towing capacity of 3500kg, both of which are on par with the turbo-diesel version of the ute.
Depending on spec, the LDV eTerron 9 in other markets has a payload capacity of 650kg to 750kg, while its braked towing capacity is also 3500kg, representing a significant increase on the 1000kg limit of its eT60 predecessor.
In China, JAC quotes a payload capacity of 900kg for the T9 EV, though its 2000kg braked towing capacity is the closest of the utes to the HiLux.
Crucially, we don’t yet know the price of any of the utes once they’re landed in Australia, and Toyota will be given the place as the pioneer when it brings the HiLux BEV here in the first half of 2026.
While the LDV eT60 remains the only factory-backed EV ute to be sold in Australia, its $92,990 plus on-road costs list price meant fewer than 100 examples were sold within its first two years on sale, despite huge dealer discounts.
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