Toyota wants an electric 4x4 HiLux with 800km driving range

What I'm really hanging out for is exactly the same thing that everybody's asking the question about, and that is a load-carrying, trailer-towing, remote area off-road capable HiLux 4x4 with zero tailpipe emissions. What a vehicle that would be – and it's possible.”

That’s Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia VP sales, marketing and franchise operations, talking about his ideal electric vehicle at Toyota’s 2023 new-vehicle showcase headlined by the 250 Series Prado and an electric HiLux ute concept called the Revo BEV.

“As you'd expect, with a Hilux from Thailand, [the Revo] concept for you is a short-range, city-focused focused BEV. It's two-wheel drive with a battery that's probably similar in capacity to the BZ4x”, said Hanley.

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Although Toyota hasn’t detailed the Revo’s range and power stats just yet, it’s safe to assume that it isn’t designed to tow a caravan across the Australian outback.

“Rest assured, Toyota is working on it”, says Hanley, “a breakthrough work on solid-state batteries may come to the fore. And maybe, just maybe there's another solution. Perhaps this is where hydrogen fuel cells could come into their own.”

A hydrogen-powered Toyota HiLux is already in development in the UK, but advancements in solid-state batteries could prove even more useful than bulky hydrogen for a true electric HiLux.

With significantly greater energy density than liquid cathode lithium-ion batteries common today, solid-state batteries promise greater driving range but that’s just the beginning. They should also be less susceptible to damage, and provide faster charging – MG claims its solid state battery pack will get from 10-80 per cent in just 10 minutes.

“This is where it's very interesting because right now, we don't have that [technology] clearly, we don't have it. But in Australia, you’ve gotta get there otherwise who’s going to buy these cars?” said Hanley.

“Honestly, who’s gonna buy a vehicle to go off-road with, tow with, and have 800km [driving range] if it’s going to be $100,000 and doesn't do half?” he added rather passionately.

When prompted for a minimum acceptable range, Hanley didn’t name a number but said: “You certainly want it up there, I mean, people don't want to compromise.

“Charging infrastructure won't be an issue for Toyota because we'll have it everywhere. And I think that that's going to expand naturally anyway around the place…I don't experience any range anxiety [in my Lexus RZ], because I ABC – Always Be Charging.

“What I am saying is, [that example is] a different scenario to if you're going to be towing a big caravan and you want to go from Melbourne to North Queensland. And then you might decide to go from North Queensland across to Broome – that's a totally different world for that customer”, Hanley pointed out.

For reference, in a Motor Trend [↗] tow test the gold standard electric ute, the Ford F-150 Lightning, dropped from its 500km range rating to just 161km when towing a 3278kg camper. And that’s from a huge 131kWh battery.