Almost certain now: Toyota Exec lets slip when new Hilux will debut

Speculation surrounding the reveal of the next generation Toyota Hilux has seemingly been put to rest based on a report from Australia.

Truth unknown…

While on the backburner since the latter stages of last year, the automaker’s Vice-President for Sales and Marketing Down Under, Sean Hanley, has provided the strongest hint yet that the all-new Hilux will become a reality in 2025.

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Reported in February last year as debuting in said year, a contradictory report unearthed in Japan six months later alleged 2024 would be the date of reveal due to Toyota wanting to get the upper hand on the Mitsubishi Triton’s return to the Japanese Domestic Market.

.. until now

Addressing whether Australia’s newfound emission regulations would lead to Toyota withdrawing its diesel engines, Hanley told carsguide.com.au, “you’ll have to wait until ’25”.

Comments that fall in-line with the claims by drive.com.au in February last year, speculation points to the Hilux possibly being offered with the current mild-hybrid 2.8 GD-6 engine, although a plug-in hybrid has also been mentioned as a direct rival for the Ford Ranger PHEV.

“Battery technology evolves, and it’s evolving quickly. If we can get to a situation where a PHEV has the capability of doing 200-plus kilometres on BEV [Battery Electric Vehicle] alone – so in other words, if I’ve got a Hilux I can just go around town, I can run that on BEV and be carbon-neutral pretty well, providing I’m using renewable energy to do it,” Hanley told the publication when asked about the possibility of a plug-in hybrid Hilux.

“I think that’s some years away, to be honest, that battery technology. But when it comes, PHEVs will have a renewed engagement with the market because they’ll go from what I call the ultimate inconvenience to the ultimate convenience”.

What to expect?

Set to ride on the TNGA-F platform that will also underpin the next generation Fortuner, the Hilux is expected to incorporate styling from the Tacoma, which will be aligned closer as part of a consolidation role abandoned in 1995 when the Americanised Hilux, called the Toyota Pickup, was dropped in favour of the market specific Tacoma.

Along with the mentioned electrified diesel that debuted this month in South Africa underneath the bonnet of the Hilux 48V, the inclusion of a new petrol engine has also been mentioned, mostly likely the 2.4-litre turbo from the Tacoma with or without hybridisation in place of the current 2.7 and 4.0-litre V6.

An apparently more viable option than the seemingly cancelled GR Hilux, a full electric Hilux is also expected to materialise after the debut of the Hilux Revo BEV Concept in Thailand two years ago.

According to a report by Reuters, Toyota Thailand President, Noriaki Yamashita, let slip that a production version of the concept is being worked on in readiness for a world debut by the end of next year.

Clock is ticking

For the time being, no official details are known and will remain purely speculative unless otherwise stated by Toyota.

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