Toyota's hybrid and battery-powered pickup trucks are coming soon.
Toyota has been selling electrified vehicles for decades (the first Prius was introduced in 1997), but has yet to introduce this technology in pickup trucks.
That will change in the not-too-distant future, Toyota said Monday at Auto Shanghai 2021.
While the focus of Toyota's Shanghai presentation was the launch of its new "BZ" sub-brand for electrified vehicles and the unveiling of a concept (shown below) that previews a battery-electric compact crossover due out next year, Toyota said at the show that it plans to launch both a hybrid and It also stated that it plans to launch both a hybrid and a battery-electric pickup truck in the near future.
This is part of Toyota's plan to have a lineup of about 70 electrified vehicles worldwide by 2025. This future lineup will include 15 dedicated battery-electric vehicles, seven of which will be under the new sub-brand BZ.
Toyota did not say whether it plans to introduce a new name for its electrified pickups or add the technology to existing pickups such as the Tacoma and Tundra (both trucks are expected to move to a shared platform when they are redesigned). It is possible that both will be done.
There are plenty of electric pickups headed to dealerships soon, so Toyota is a bit behind the curve; GMC's Hummer EV pickup will go into production this fall, and EV startup Rivian has promised deliveries of its R1T pickup this summer. Ford, which makes the top-selling F-Series pickup, also plans to launch its F-150 electric vehicle in mid-2022.
Note that Toyota has already unveiled a prototype electric pickup; in January, Toyota's Australian division unveiled a battery-powered 70 Series Land Cruiser developed for mining evaluation.
For more information on the Shanghai Motor Show, see our dedicated hub.