Toyota Teases Mystery Pickup Truck. Will It Go After the Cybertruck?

Toyota was not going to sit and watch the Ford F-150 Lightning, Tesla Cybertruck, and Chevrolet Silverado EV have all the fun in the electric pickup segment. The Japanese automaker has been secretly working on a zero-tailpipe-emission truck that it has just teased on the day it introduced three electric models: the Toyota C-HR+, the Urban Cruiser, and the refreshed bZ4X.

The silhouette shown alongside two others toward the end of the Toyota event seems to be that of a double-cab pickup truck, unrelated to the electric Hilux, which is set to roll off the production line of automaker's plant in Thailand. The Hilux EV will be sold on the local market and in Australia. Underpowered and sporting a range of around 120 miles, the Hilux EV is definitely not an option.

What we are looking at might be the production version of the EPU Concept that the Japanese brand unveiled in 2023. The EPU was reportedly previewing a compact electric pickup, scheduled to launch in 2027. The concept truck came with a design conceived in the US and was branded as more of a lifestyle vehicle rather than an actual workhorse.

Toyota kept details under wraps, but what we do know is that the concept truck measures 199.6 inches (5,070 millimeters) in length, 75.2 inches (1,910 millimeters) in width, and 67.3 inches (1,710 millimeters) in height, sporting a wheelbase of 131.9 inches (3,350 millimeters).

A dual-screen setup, a few physical buttons, and a yoke-like steering wheel are on board the EPU concept. However, we have yet to see how many of those will make it to production, if ever.

Other option for the electric pickup truck would be an EV version of the recently refreshed Tacoma. Toyota might offer the model with a powertrain similar to that of the just unveiled C-HR+, the crossover that boasts 338 horsepower in its top-of-the-line variant.

The three models that Toyota teased will focus on "enhancing the customer's lifestyle just as powerfully as they enhance our carbon neutrality goals," says Toyota Motor Europe president Yoshihiro Nakata.

Late at the EV party with its first electric car, the bZ4X, launched in 2022, Toyota announced that it is finally getting serious about e-mobility. The latest moves made by the automaker confirm the brand's new direction. The three EVs previewed by Toyota should hit the market sometime in 2026.

Toyota unveiled the all-new C-HR+, the updated bZ4X, and the Urban Cruiser entry-level electric crossover, all of which are aimed at the European market. However, Toyota needs EVs in America as well to scale down the emission level of its lineup. Furthermore, an electric pickup truck would be more appropriate for the American market than for European customers.