Toyota says that it is still ‘investigating’ a fully electric Hilux pickup

Toyota has confirmed that it is working on a “multi-pathway approach to carbon neutrality”, meaning that its near future will include hybrids, EVs and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Now, that’s all well and good, but what does the future actually hold for one of its most iconic creations – the Hilux?

Well, just last week we were shown the new Hilux Hybrid 48V, but simply tacking a mild-hybrid system onto a 2.8-litre turbocharged diesel engine is not going to completely futureproof the indestructible pickup.

Of course, there is the experimental hydrogen-fuelled Hilux Prototype (pictured below) that was unveiled earlier this year and was built at Toyota’s Burnaston factory in Derby with UK Government funding, but what about a Hilux EV to potentially challenge things like the Tesla Cybertruck, the Rivian R1T and the Ford F-150 Lightning? Well, it sounds like it might still be a possibility.

“It's really part of our multi pathway approach, to have different powertrains and solutions,” says Emmanuel Beaune, the boss of Toyota Motor Europe’s light commercial vehicles division. “So, it's too early to comment on an electric Hilux today. There are some investigations, but I cannot say more.”

Interesting. Those investigations no doubt include the Hilux Revo BEV concept (pictured up at the top of this article) that was first shown in Thailand back in December 2022, but it’s been a while since we had an update on that project.

“Today we have 30 per cent of the pickup segment in Europe, so a large portion, but we can see that for some workers they will be interested in a BEV,” says Beaune. “There are some, let's say, requests there. That's the reason why we're studying with TMC (Toyota Motor Corporation) in Japan in order to propose the right solution.”