Next-generation Toyota HiLux to launch next year, says report

A fresh report out of Japan has suggested the next-generation Toyota HiLux will make its global debut as soon as next year, bringing with it more electrification technology, bigger dimensions and a bold new look previewed by the render you see here.

That’s the word from automotive scoop outlet Response.jp via Apollo News Service, which didn’t reference any sources in its headline-grabbing report but provided what it claims will be the exact dimensions of the ninth-generation pick-up.

According to the report, the replacement for Australia’s top-selling vehicle will measure 5355mm long, 1860mm wide and 1800mm tall – making it 30mm longer and 5mm wider but some 65mm lower than the current HiLux SR5 dual-cab – and feature some form of electrification across the range.

The powertrains nominated by the Japanese outlet are Toyota’s upcoming 48-volt mild-hybrid 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel and a new full-hybrid 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel drivetrain.

Australia will get its first taste of the new mild-hybrid system later this year when the facelifted Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series arrives, before it’s then offered in the HiLux and next-gen Prado in 2024.

A pair of battery-electric powertrains are also said to be in the works for the new HiLux, including rear-drive single-motor and all-wheel drive dual-motor systems.

The report doesn’t reference any other market besides Japan and so it’s entirely plausible the new HiLux will indeed debut and possibly even go on sale in its domestic market next year, but it’s not expected to arrive Down Under – from Thailand – until sometime in 2025, by which time the current HiLux will be a decade old.

Toyota Australia stuck to its usual policy of not commenting on future product when contacted by carsales about the report, declaring that while it “regularly improves its product offerings for customers” there was “nothing further to announce today”.

A 2024 launch for the new HiLux would further limit the already-short lifespan of the upcoming GR Sport variant, which will top the existing HiLux range from September, as well as the local introduction of the 48V mild-hybrid tech – which improves fuel economy but not performance outputs – for some HiLux variants in the first half of next year.

The gap between Toyota’s recent new-model reveals and their Aussie releases has typically floated around the six-to-eight-month mark, which means that even if the new HiLux does debut next year, it will almost certainly not be in local showrooms until 2025, thereby giving the GR Sport and initial 48V variants a bit of breathing room.

More importantly, a 2024 reveal and launch would see the new HiLux beat the upcoming Kia Tasman to market, but it’s more likely the two new utes will be released in Australia within months of each other in 2025.

But Toyota Australia has previously said it’s not “scared” or “concerned” about the looming Korean 4x4 pick-up, which will be based on a ladder frame, powered by a diesel engine, offered in a range of body styles and sold with a seven-year warranty.

“We stand by the products and we stand by what Toyota stands for and that’s quality, durability, reliability,” Toyota Australia sales and marketing chief Sean Hanley told carsales in June.

“We’re confident that we will bring product to market what the consumer desires.”

The current Toyota HiLux has been Australia’s top-selling ute and the nation’s favourite new vehicle overall for the majority of its decade on sale, but so far this year lags behind the Ford Ranger when it comes to the volume-selling and more profitable 4x4 ute sector.

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au