Toyota HiLux EV arrives in Australia

The Toyota HiLux Revo BEV has been spotted being unloaded under the cover of darkness at Fremantle Port, with photos of the all-electric pick-up truck being posted to Twitter by the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) this week.

Snapped on August 7, the headline-grabbing concept ute was one of hundreds of Toyota and Lexus vehicles being offloaded from a cargo carrier.

Toyota Australia says the Revo BEV is on local soil for “internal review” – more than likely in conjunction with Toyota’s mining fleet partners, many of which will be present at the Advancing Net Zero Mining WA Conference scheduled for August 29-30.

We wouldn’t be surprised if the vehicle stayed in WA a while longer so it can be displayed at the WA Mining Conference and Exhibition on October 11 and 12, especially since Australia’s largest mining projects are all in WA.

The Revo BEV concept was first shown in Thailand late last year as a battery-electric version of that market’s single-cab HiLux pick-up, but details of its mechanical make-up have been thin on the ground ever since.

However, they’re clearly of interest to Toyota Australia because the Japanese car-maker’s local division had executive and engineering boots on the ground in Thailand to suss out the concept within weeks of its debut.

Now the one-off creation has made its way Down Under and its local appearance comes roughly seven months after Melbourne-based HiLux and Ranger EV conversion firm Roev revealed all of its ‘EV Fleet Program’ build slots were already spoken for in 2023, with demand continuing to rise.

The news confirmed the long-running theory that Australian vehicle fleet companies were ready to integrate and prioritise electrification into their operations.

Roev says it will convert any current (2016-2022) Toyota HiLux or Ford Ranger to full electric power with either a Standard Range (64kWh, 240km) or Extended Range (96kWh, 360km) battery pack capable of 80kW CCS DC fast-charging, for between $47,990 and $57,990 depending on the desired specification.

With Toyota Australia also co-developing a battery-electric LandCruiser 70 Series with Vivopower, electric utes could end up becoming big business in coming years Down Under, where Toyota could nab a significant slice of the market if it muscles in with its own factory-supplied EV load-luggers.

Separately, a dedicated electric Toyota pick-up aimed primarily at Asian and emerging markets is expected to enter production in the closing stages of this year and launch in early 2024, with Toyota Australia confirming its interest in such a product as recently as June.

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