Report: Toyota Hilux BEV Now Being Tested In Thailand

The Toyota Hilux BEV concept displayed at the Toyota Beyond Zero expo held in Malaysia earlier this year.

Japanese automaking giant Toyota took a big step forward with its still-in-development and all-electric (EV) version of its evergreen Hilux pick-up truck – the Hilux BEV. Earlier this week, the automaker reportedly deployed a small fleet of pre-production units in Pattaya, Thailand.

Said fleet is being field-tested in the popular Thai seaside resort city, where they are serving as public transportation. This step is said to be crucial ahead of the automaker’s earlier reported plans of mass-producing the Hilux BEV in said ASEAN kingdom.

A small fleet of pre-production units of the Hilux BEV concept pictured are reportedly deployed for field-testing in Pattaya, Thailand, presently.

“Our intention is to be producing the Hilux BEV over here,” said Pras Ganesh, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Asia in a recent interview with Reuters. The exec however did not disclose details on price or targeted production volume for the Hilux BEV.

The Toyota Hilux BEV will be primarily positioned for the Thai domestic market, but Ganesh did note Toyota will consider exporting it. Presently, Toyota is subjecting pre-production models to various tests across varying road and temperature conditions.

Mass production of the Hilux BEV will begin in Thailand soon after, and Toyota acknowledged the prospects of exporting it beyond the kingdom.

Moreover, Toyota won’t be alone in mass-producing a BEV pick-up truck in Thailand. Rivals Isuzu also disclosed similar plans for which earlier this year when it revealed its D-Max BEV. Pick-up trucks make up over half of Thailand’s total vehicle sales, thus making it critical for both marques.

"The more range I have to put on it, the more battery I have to put on it, which means the weight of the vehicle also becomes significantly heavier, which means the loading can be much less," Ganesh added before citing the challenges of meeting the customer's usage needs as well.

Though trailing on the EV front against American powerhouse Tesla and Chinese NEV-making giants BYD, Toyota has recently instead profited on rising demands for its petrol-electric hybrids (HEVs), with said type being a traditionally strong core of the company.

And whilst the firm looks into expanding its EV offerings regionally, Ganesh expects hybrid sales to continue growing both in Thailand and regionally in ASEAN. In Thailand, Toyota shifted 30,000 hybrid vehicles in 2023, contributing roughly 11.5% of said kingdom’s overall vehicle sales too.