Pint-size 2024 Toyota HiLux Champ spotted

The Toyota IMV 0 Concept has been spotted in production form in southeast Asia ahead of its expected global reveal in the coming weeks, with spy imagery showing the pint-size pick-up being filmed for an advertising commercial.

Set to wear the ‘HiLux Champ’ nameplate, as you can see from its number plates, the Thai-oriented compact commercial vehicle looks very similar to the concept that previewed it in Bangkok last December,

The production-spec vehicle has been outed publicly via the kurdistan_automotive_blog Instagram page – the same one that shared camouflaged imagery of the facelifted LandCruiser 70 Series long before it was revealed publicly.

Word on the street is the 2024 Toyota HiLux Champ – which is underpinned by the same IMV ladder frame as the current-generation HiLux, hence the concept name – will be revealed and released in Thailand on November 27

We still don’t know what will power the compact load-hauler, but four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines are expected in addition to hybrid and battery-electric powertrains, in addition to various modular load area solutions for the myriad applications that southeast Asian customers are expected to subject it to.

Described as a customisable delivery vehicle at last week’s Japan Mobility Show by Toyota president and CEO Koji Sato, the IMV 0 (which stands for International Multi-Purpose Vehicle) is designed to accommodate a variety of commercial applications including a pop-up coffee shop, bar or DJ booth.

Thailand – the world’s biggest mid-size ute market – is unequivocally the intended market for the HiLux Champ, as declared by Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda back at the concept’s reveal last year, when he said the model was “a brand-new IMV pick-up truck for Thailand, something truly affordable and truly innovative”.

However, Toyota Australia sales and marketing chief Sean Hanley told journalists at the Japan Mobility Show that it would not be sold in Australia alongside the HiLux, the nation’s most popular new vehicle.

“It’s not intended for Australian requirements,” he said. “We’ve got our model line-up with HiLux and it’s just not a real good fit right now. So within our model line-up, we’re pretty set right now.

“[The Champ] will be a great addition for the Asian market, but it just shows the diversity of Toyota’s product line-up and product thinking.

“We don’t take every car. There are cars in the US, cars in Europe, cars in Asia, cars in Australia. We don’t take all of them, but we take what's suitable for our customers,” said Hanley.

While it might not be on the main menu for Australia, it seems local engineers had a hand in the vehicle’s development, at least according to kurdistan_automotive_blog.

“The vehicle was developed and engineered by the Daihatsu-Toyota Joint Engineering Team (TDEM) in collaboration with a team of engineers from Japan and Australia,” it said.

Stare at the exterior design for long enough and you’ll likely see traces of the Compact Cruiser EV concept in there, adding weight to expectations that Toyota is plotting a sub-HiLux global ute as well as a sub-Prado off-road wagon, both of which have been explored at length by carsales.