We can safely say that Toyota is the king of hybrids considering most of its New Zealand lineup is made up of electrified vehicles but its best selling model, the Hilux, still has no hybrid option.
That could soon change with CarExpert suggesting the Hilux range will be expanded in the coming years.
The Australia automotive news website sat down with the Toyota Australia’s vice president of sales, marketing, and franchise operations, Sean Hanley, who said, “we will have more action on Hilux in the second half of the year.”
“Our goal always is to address market opportunities and customer needs with Hilux. At some point, that will include a form of electrification, although I don’t intend to go into the exact details of that today.”
Although Hanley wouldn’t go into further detail, he did say an electrified version of the ute is something the carmaker needs to make between now and 2030.
As for what could join the Hilux lineup later this year, we don’t know but it will likely be a variant of the internal combustion engine model.
In terms of powertrains, there’s no indication whether the electrified Hilux will be a petrol or diesel hybrid, or even feature a fully electric drivetrain.
There’s always the possibility the future model could be hydrogen-powered as a hydrogen fuel cell electric (FCEV) converted version is going into small scale production thanks to Toyota UK.
The carmaker has also toyed with the idea of creating a fully electric Hilux after revealing an EV concept in Thailand late last year.
With that being said, it seems we aren’t far off seeing a hybrid Hilux or one powered my electrified means.
