After years of investing in hybrid and hydrogen models, Toyota now makes room for 16 electric car models and an electric pickup that will hit the market by the year 2030
Toyota even avoided the electric car race by not signing the Glasgow agreement, last month, which limits the sale of combustion cars until 2040 and for several years, insisting on the strategy of betting its efforts on hybrid and cell models. of hydrogen. However, the Japanese brand seems to have gone back in style. This week, Toyota presented 16 prototypes of fully electric cars that will be launched by 2030. Among the models is the electric pickup with the future Tacoma, a model of the same size as the Hilux.
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Toyota, in addition to hydrogen, plans to enter the electric pickup sector
With angles of attack, big tires and enviable output, the electric pickup was what most attracted attention during the presentation by the global CEO of the manufacturer, Akio Toyoda. As it is still a prototype, there is not much information about size, equipment and engine specifications that the model has.
However, the project could be a spoiler for what Toyota's new design philosophy will look like for the new generation of pickup trucks, including the Hilux itself, which will receive a new generation in 2024.
In addition, the new electric pickup shows that the automaker, in addition to the hydrogen sector, is also working to enter the electric pickup sector, which already has the Rivian R1T, Hummer EV and Tesla Cybertruck. Diego Prado, Toyota's director of communications, confirmed to the Argentine website 16 Válvulas, in November, that there will be some form of electrification in the next generation of the South American Hilux.
Toyota to sell 3,5 million zero-emission vehicles by 2030
According to Prado, the new Hilux will be ready to have a hybrid configuration in its portfolio. The model will be produced in Zárate, Argentina, as it is currently done, and soon after it will reach the national market.
Until presenting the prototypes this week, the CEO of the brand considered the transition to electric cars “overestimated” and bet on the transition to hydrogen as the best option.
For this reason, the Japanese company concentrated investments in hybrid technologies in recent years and took a while to present its first electric car. However, Toyota's strategy changed. In addition to the 16 prototypes presented, including the electric pickup, sports car, SUV and city cars, the brand has promised to sell 3,5 million zero-emission vehicles by 2030.
Toyota breaks records with the use of hydrogen fuel cells
In October, the Japanese company broke records with the Toyota Mirai, which set a new benchmark for hydrogen efficiency, completing a round trip of more than 1 km in Southern California on just a 5,65 kg tank of hydrogen.
The race was held over two days, but was not officially verified by the Guinness Book of World Records until the week of the test. The mark surpassed the previous record, which was verified by another entity, obtained in May in France by another Toyota Mirai, with a distance of 1003 km.
