- Toyota has unveiled more than a dozen electric vehicles it plans to build, including a pickup truck.
- This is the first time we’re seeing what Toyota’s upcoming electric truck may look like.
- It’s part of Toyota’s $70 billion investment into green vehicles and technology.
We’ve known for months that Toyota is planning to unleash an electric pickup truck sometime soon. On Tuesday, the company shared how it could look.
During an event laying out its global push into electric vehicles, Toyota took the wraps off more than a dozen future SUVs, sedans, and sports cars. Tucked away in the back corner was one of the most exciting prospects of them all: the yet-to-be-named truck.
Here it is:
Toyota’s electric-pickup-truck concept.
Noriaki Mitsuhashi/N-RAK Photo Agency
Toyota hasn’t released any details about the pickup, like when it’ll arrive, how much it’ll cost, or how big it’ll be. It would make sense to launch an electric version of the Tundra to compete with upcoming battery-powered full-size trucks like the Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevrolet Silverado EV. But this pickup looks more Tacoma-sized.
That could be a smart move because the gas-powered Tacoma crushes all other midsize pickups in US sales, while the full-size Tundra isn’t nearly as popular as its rivals out of Detroit. Right now, the only electric pickup you can buy is the midsize R1T, the inaugural truck from the California startup Rivian.
A Toyota electric-vehicle concepts.
Noriaki Mitsuhashi/N-RAK Photo Agency
Toyota launched the pioneering Prius hybrid more than 20 years ago but has been a bit slow to embrace fully electric vehicles. It has said hybrids are the best way of reducing global emissions. The company came out swinging on Tuesday, though, unveiling 15 electric models and plans to roll out 30 by 2030. Toyota said it would plunge $70 billion into electrification efforts and make Lexus an electric-only brand.
The company displayed several similar-looking electric SUVs of various sizes, in addition to a few more interesting models. It previewed an electric off-road SUV tentatively named the Compact Cruiser EV. It looks like the spiritual successor to Toyota’s FJ Cruiser.
Toyota’s Compact Cruiser EV SUV concept.
Noriaki Mitsuhashi/N-RAK Photo Agency
And it showed off sleek, low-slung sports cars from both the Lexus and the Toyota brands. Details are scant, but we’ll surely learn more about all these models as they near production.
Toyota’s sports EV concept.
Noriaki Mitsuhashi/N-RAK Photo Agency
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/toyota-electric-pickup-truck-f50-lightning-tacoma-rivian-2021-12
