"They're fun, but can you tow?" Why Toyota won't be doing an electric HiLux or LandCruiser any time soon

Don't expect to see a fully electric HiLux or LandCruiser anytime soon, with Toyota suggesting BEV technology isn't yet suitable for its vehicles that are expected to tow or haul goods.

The brand instead takes a "balanced approach to electrification" - including hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains - and won't go fully electric until the technology and surrounding infrastructure can deliver what its customers except from its hardest-working vehicles.

Conceding electric vehicles are "fun at first", Toyota America's executive chief engineer for truck and off-road vehicles, Mike Sweers, told US outlet CarBuzz that questions remain over just how capable EVs really are when it comes to towing or carrying heavy loads.

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"A battery-electric vehicle's motor generator is like an on/off switch, so it's fun at first," he told the publication. "But can you tow with it? And how far can you tow between recharges? And can you find a recharging station? Can you haul with it? Can you do what a truck customer's (needs) are?"

His words will surely ring true in Australia, where long-distance towing and load carrying are two critical parts of the LandCruiser and HiLux story, both of which are currently powered by diesel engines.

Reports continue to circulate that the next HiLux - and its American Tacoma twin - will welcome electrification in hybrid, and it seems that's where the story will end for now.

"We're taking a balanced approach to electrification," Sweers told CarBuzz. "Whether it's PHEV, BEV, fuel cell, traditional hybrid series or parallel systems, we're taking a balanced approach. There isn't one offering that meets every customer's needs."

Another issue, says Sweers, is infrastructure, especially with customers venturing far off road.

"There's going to be range anxiety on that vehicle," he says. "What do you do? When you run out of batteries, it's not like you pull out the pack of AAs and switch batteries out and continue moving on.

"There are all these types of questions that I think need to be answered that are different than the urban-setting BEV that you're running back and forth to work and you plug in at your house at night."

We already expect the next HiLux to debut a diesel-hybrid engine, with recent reports out of Thailand's Headlight Magazine suggesting the new Fortuner (and thus likely the new HiLux) would debut in 2023 packing an electrified-diesel engine under its bonnet, and the brand’s TNGA-F platform under its skin.

Those reports suggested the model will continue to be fitted with the familiar 2.8-litre diesel engine (currently good for 150kW and 500Nm). But the big change will be the addition of a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that will not only reduce fuel use and emissions, but should also deliver a power boost on take-off for quicker acceleration.