Toyota has impeccable timing. So, auto industry observers perked up this month when the automaker used an event in Brussels to tease something that has long been rumored but seems surprising right now: The brand will soon build its first electric pickup.
Getting In Late and Profiting From It
Toyota has defied conventional thinking in the auto industry for most of 30 years. It showed off its first hybrid, the original Prius, at a 1995 auto show. At that time gasoline sold for barely more than a dollar a gallon, and few people put much thought into saving it.
However, while the rest of the automotive industry has moved heavily into electric vehicles (EVs) in recent years, Toyota has largely held back. The company argues that it can build 90 hybrids with the minerals needed for one EV battery. So, it says, the best way to reduce global oil consumption is to replace 90 purely gas-powered cars, not one, every time you can.
Toyota does plan a full lineup of EVs, but it will achieve that goal years after rivals like General Motors.
Today, it sells just one EV in the U.S., the beleaguered bZ4X, which suffers range limitations and has sold poorly by Toyota standards.
Leaning In When Others Lean Out
Over the past year, many automakers have dialed back their commitments to EVs. From Ford to Volvo, they’ve delayed plans for new electric cars. Ford long planned to be the first automaker to sell multiple electric pickups. It has since failed to sell as many F-150 Lightning electric trucks as estimated and delayed plans for a second battery-powered pickup.
Ram recently delayed its own planned electric truck.
Many automakers are also keeping their powder dry, waiting to see the impact of possible auto industry tariffs and whether President Trump can convince Congress to end the $7,500 EV tax credit.
With everyone climbing out of the pool, Toyota’s getting ready to dive in.
The company used the Brussels event to show off several new EVs, including an updated bZ4X and a revived, all-electric C-HR.
But a silhouette stole the show. Chief Branding Officer Simon Humphries told gathered reporters, “We don’t claim to be original in our way of thinking. The idea that multiple propulsion systems can exist together is as old as the car itself. And as I stand here today, there is still no single answer.”
As he spoke, a slide behind him showed planned EVs. The models shown off in Brussels were fully lit. Three others were in shadow. They appeared to show a full-size SUV, a Land Cruiser-like off-roader, and a 4-door pickup.
Reporters disagree on exactly what size the truck might be. InsideEVs thought it might be an electric Tacoma. Motor1 thought it was “a production version of the EPU concept,” a small electric truck shown off at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show.
Whatever it is, its timing is the most interesting thing about it. Of course, the fact that Toyota is building it doesn’t mean it will come to the U.S. market. But the company sells far more trucks in America than in Europe where executives chose to tease the truck.
Toyota may be getting into the electric truck market just as the companies that moved in first are nervously pausing. Given Toyota’s knack for timing, that’s an intriguing move.