Toyota Expects to Sell Just 500 Electric Hiluxes in Australia

Toyota Australia expects to sell only about 500 electric Hiluxes in 2026, in a market where it sold more than 51,000 diesel versions of the same truck last year.

The Hilux BEV is priced from A$74,990 before on-road costs and is aimed mostly at government fleets and mining companies, with private buyers treated as a bonus. It was expected to reach Australian showrooms between April and June. The Hilux isn’t sold in the United States, where Toyota’s midsize pickup is the Tacoma, which has no electric version.

Chasing Cars reported three versions, all dual-cab with full-time all-wheel drive:

Hilux BEV, Australia	Price before on-road costs
SR cab-chassis	A$74,990
SR pickup	A$76,490
SR5	A$82,990

That pricing puts even the cheapest electric Hilux above the top diesel model, the A$71,990 Rugged X, and above the starting price of the plug-in hybrid Ford Ranger, also A$71,990. Chinese and Korean electric utes undercut it by a wide margin, with the BYD Shark 6 at A$57,900 drive-away and the KGM Musso EV at A$60,000 drive-away.

The electric Hilux uses a 59.2 kWh battery and two motors, an 82 kW front unit and a 129 kW rear unit, for a combined 144 kW and 468 Nm. The 2.8-liter turbo-diesel makes 150 kW and 500 Nm with an automatic. Range is estimated at 315 km on the NEDC cycle, which Chasing Cars described as a lenient standard. A 150 kW DC fast charger takes the battery from 10 to 80 percent in about 30 minutes, and a 10 kW AC charger takes about 6.5 hours to go from 10 to 100 percent.

The biggest working compromise is towing. The BEV is rated to pull 2,000 kg braked, against 3,500 kg for most of the diesel range.

The SR comes with cloth seats, 17-inch wheels, twin 12.3-inch displays, dual-zone climate control, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a full-size spare. The SR5 adds leather upholstery, heated front seats, a heated leather steering wheel, eight-speaker audio and a wireless phone charger.

The Toyota Report Take

A 500-unit target is Toyota being realistic rather than timid. With a shorter range, a lower towing limit and a price well above both the diesel Hilux and cheaper electric rivals, this truck makes sense for fleets with fixed routes and sustainability targets, and not yet for the tradie who tows a trailer every day. That is also a fair preview of the problems Toyota would face with an electric Tacoma here.