Preparing to enter the electric pickup truck market, leading Japanese automotive manufacturer Toyota is planning to showcase its first vehicle, the all-electric Hilux BEV, this year at the Bangkok international automotive show. The EVP of Toyota Motor Asia Pras Ganesh informed that the vehicle is going through the TIC (torture test) right now to see if it can perform satisfactorily in different conditions.
Being in the market is particularly important for Toyota in Thailand, with relatively more than half of all vehicles sold in the country being classified as pickup trucks. In the face of stiff price competition from Chinese EV manufacturers as they enter the market, Toyota has a bold strategy to strengthen and safeguard its position of offering its new Hilux BEV.
The proposed Hilux BEV is likely to be targeted to the local market in the first place. However, Toyota is mulling over the idea of the vehicle’s export to other regions too. The company is testing the Hilux BEV for multiple use cases in varying road and temperature conditions.
Since delivering cars that are suitable to customers and their varying requirements at the testing phase is a priority goal for Toyota, Hilux BEV will be differentiated by this. Ganesh showed his optimism towards the ongoing increase of hybrid sales not only in Thailand but also from other Southeast Asian countries, however it faces competition from automakers trying to reach the market with low-cost strategies, like Great wall Motor.
However, the quantity of hybrid cars by Toyota in 2023 still figures out 11% of the volume which might be around 30,000 units, comprising 5% of the sales of the entire country within the survey period. This company’s market presence in hybrid car market is solid even in the face of changing trends in the market.