Toyota might have been slow to the EV game, but it appears one of its best-selling models will soon adopt battery power.
In an image uploaded to Instagram by Careta Malaysia, a presentation slide made by Toyota at last week’s Japan Mobility Show displays five new products the car giant is due to launch within the next year.
Included in the slide is the facelifted bZ4X electric SUV, the Yaris Ativ hybrid (not sold in Australia), and the LandCruiser FJ (also not for Australia), alongside two silhouettes of utes.
Both are understood to be the next-generation HiLux, given recent spy images and government documents showing its reveal is impending, however the presence of a ‘BEV’ (battery-electric vehicle) tag above one of them shows an electric variant is on the way.
Toyota already produces an electric HiLux – officially named the HiLux BEV (battery-electric vehicle) prototype – however it’s not available for the generation public, instead being supplied to mining giant BHP.
The HiLux BEV was preceded by the HiLux Revo BEV single-cab concept from 2022, though Toyota has never divulged powertrain specifications for the electric ute.
In 2024, Reuters reported Pras Ganesh, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Asia, said an electric version of the HiLux would go on sale in Thailand by the end of 2025, a timeline unlikely to be achieved given the short amount of time left in the year with the world still waiting for the new-generation ute.
However, Ganesh’s comments plus the slide shown to South-East Asian media suggest the electric HiLux might not be for all markets.
As previously reported, approval documents filed with the Australian government have shown the HiLux will likely be exclusively powered by the ‘1GD-FTV’ 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine available in non-Workmate examples of the current model.
Two versions of the 2.8-litre are listed: one designated as ‘HI’ and the other ‘MHV’, suggesting a higher-output and mild-hybrid engine, respectively.
While an electric HiLux could aid Toyota in reducing its fleet emissions locally – an important factor given the increasingly stringent emissions limits under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard – it would be one of only a handful of electric utes in Australia.
Currently the LDV eT60 has been the only EV ute sold here, but its $92,990 plus on-roads price tag saw it produce meagre sales, and receive heavy discounts from dealers.
LDV is soon launching the eTerron 9 as its latest electric ute, though plug-in hybrids such as the BYD Shark 6 have proven to be the far more popular technology.
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