Dear dual-cab dinosaurs: You think Toyota's electric HiLux won't work in Australia? You're wrong | Opinion

No sooner had Toyota released the very first image of an all-electric ute that will no doubt replace the diesel-chugging HiLux we know today - and possibly as soon as 2024 - did the internet begin to light up with comments about it not being a real ute, and that it couldn’t possibly keep up with the diesels of today.

Well, I’ve got bad news for you. You’re wrong.

Toyota this week previewed a total of 16 new electric vehicles – including a model that appears to share plenty with the Toyota LandCruiser, as well an electric answer to the FJ Cruiser.

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The brand says it will be investing heavily in battery technology and energy efficiency reach its target of 3.5 million electric sales a year by 2030. Making the point that this is not some "dreamy" vision decades away from eventuating, company boss Akio Toyoda instead said most of the new models would launch in "the next few years" - and would attract a monster investment of almost $100 billion.

Toyota’s long-awaited shift to an all-electric future is hugely exciting, and not just from an eco-conscious perspective (because the world’s biggest car company finally embracing an EV future will soon see us hurtling along the road to carbon-neutral motoring).

The other reason it’s exciting is because an EV ute will leave your diesel-powered HiLux in the dust in almost every measurable way. Don't believe me? Look up, you might just see a comet hurtling toward you.

Le me guess: Australia is a unique, harsh landscape, and there’s simply nowhere else like it. Really? Ever been to an American desert? Where the sand is hotter than the surface of sun and the only living thing for miles seems to be the occasional spike-covered cactus? Or South Africa? South America?

But wait, they say, we drive further than those people. Do we? According to research, the average Australian drives around 35km a day. Some of us, far away from our metro centres, drive much further, of course. But that’s a tiny sliver of the ute-buying population. If it’s not, then why are our cities so filled with dual-cabs? Honeslty, how many times do you drive 500, 600, 800kms in a single sitting? If your answer that question is "all the time", then an electric ute is probablt not for you. But for the rest of us?

It's not that I don't love the dual-cabs of today. The HiLux is a sales beast, and the new Ford Ranger looks spectacular. And don't get me started on the Raptor. But the utes of today aren't the utes of tomorrow, and the brands know it.

Which is why Ford is electrifying its best-selling vehicle, the F-150. What’s more, the Lightning model has proven so popular in the USA that Ford has been forced to stagger the ordering process, after receiving an overwhelming 200,000 online reservations.

According to the just-released specs, F-150 Lightnings equipped with the 131.0 kWh Extended Range battery pack will travel around 483kms on a single charge, will produce a massive 420kW and 1051Nm, and will tow a monster 4.5-tonnes.

Compare those specs to your ute.

Ram has vowed to take it one further with its all-electric 1500, due in 2024, which promises a monstrous 660kW from its dual-motor setup, and an incredible 800km driving range.

Rivian was just named MotorTrend's Truck of The Year in the USA. Then there's Tesla, GMC. The electric-truck list is growing every day, and every single one of them leaves petrol- or diesel-powered utes in their rear-view mirror.

The future is electric. It’s time to climb aboard.