Hydrogen HiLux not off-limits to private buyers

Toyota Australia’s hydrogen-powered HiLux will be aimed squarely at fleet customers when it arrives, with the company developing what it calls “relocatable hydrogen refuelers” that can be set up wherever a fleet is based.

But Toyota says private buyers won’t be shut out entirely, despite Australia’s near non-existent hydrogen refuelling network.

Toyota Australia Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations John Pappas said the infrastructure problem was the whole story, and Toyota’s answer is to take the bowser to the customer.

“We’re going to target some fleet customers. Not that we’re excluding private buyers, but with the hydrogen HiLux infrastructure for refuelling is very, very limited,” he said.

“So what we’re trying to do is we are now investing in developing what we call relocatable hydrogen refuelers.

“So if we have a fleet of cars, say for a fleet customer, we can actually work out the logistics of getting these relocatable refuelers set up for these fleets in an area where we can actually help them with the ecosystem of refuelling.”

Toyota already runs the same playbook with the second-generation Mirai fuel-cell sedan, which it leases to fleet customers rather than selling outright.

Pappas didn’t mince words about the challenge for anyone thinking of going it alone.

“We know that EVs are challenging in rural and regional Australia, so imagine that on a hydrogen level. It’d be even more difficult,” he said.

“So we’re not saying private customers can’t buy them if we had them for sale, but we would be trying to target some specific fleet type customers for sure.”

The numbers show just how niche hydrogen remains in Australia. September 2026 VFACTS data shows a grand total of one hydrogen-powered vehicle sold across the entire Australian market this year, a Hyundai Nexo.

Toyota hasn’t reported a single Mirai sale in 2026, down from two at this point last year.

Compare that to battery-electric vehicles, which have racked up 137,205 sales year-to-date (excluding Tesla and Polestar, which report separately), and you get a sense of the mountain hydrogen has to climb.

Pappas listed the hydrogen HiLux as following the electric C-HR, due mid next year in Toyota’s electrified rollout, though he didn’t put a firm date on it in our interview.

It’s previously been reported that it will launch globally in 2028.

The hydrogen ute joins a growing HiLux family that already includes diesel, 48-volt mild-hybrid diesel and battery-electric versions, the latter priced from $74,990 plus on-road costs. Pricing and specifications for the fuel-cell version have not been announced.

For now, if you want a hydrogen HiLux, it helps to own a mine, a council depot or a large logistics fleet.

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