Bangkok - This week, Toyota staged a ceremony to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its Thailand subsidiary, which also happens to be its biggest bakkie-production hub.
The ever-enthusiastic Toyota president, Akio Toyoda, was on hand to recount the history of the division and reveal some of the secrets of its future, which includes a new affordable bakkie and an electric Hilux.
Toyota showed off two concept vehicles that preview the upcoming bakkies, but the company has released only a single picture that partially reveals the concepts, and details remain thin on the ground, although Toyoda did drop more than a few hints during his speech.
The Toyota Hilux Revo BEV concept shows that the carmaker is serious about putting a battery-powered one-tonner onto the market, although given how late the current Hilux is in its life cycle, this will probably happen only in the next generation.
But what really piques our interest is the compact IMV 0 concept vehicle next to it, which is a compact bakkie that takes some retro-design inspiration from the earlier Land Cruiser models.
Toyoda says he challenged his engineering teams to create a brand-new IMV pick-up truck for Thailand, which would be affordable and innovative, and he also revealed that a production version was on the way soon.
“Internally, we call it the IMV 0 concept,” Toyoda said. “Its official launch is actually over a year away, but I wanted all of you to be the first to see it!”
Of course, it’s way too early to say whether the production model will come to South Africa, but it would surely make a perfect successor to the Stallion that was sold in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Toyota president said the IMV 0 and Hilux BEV concepts represented two different ends of the automotive spectrum for different needs and different customers: “One designed to support economic growth and mobility for all, and one designed to support carbon neutrality and a better environment for all.”
Reading between the lines, it appears that the production version of the IMV compact bakkie will be powered by combustion engines, given how today’s steep battery costs would not enable an affordable price tag, although it’s also possible that an electric version could also be offered at some stage.
Toyoda reiterated the need to be realistic about the company’s BEV expansion plans.
“We believe in building cars to serve the real-life needs of our customers. That is why our IMV 0 team spent many months in the field, observing the lifestyles and needs of our potential owners,” Toyoda said.
“It's also why Toyota does not take a one-size-fits-all approach to our products or our powertrains.
“In fact, I am often criticised in the press because I won't declare that the automotive industry should commit 100% to BEV. I believe we need to be realistic about when society will be able to fully adopt Battery Electric Vehicles and when our infrastructure can support them at scale.”