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Shorter wait? Next Toyota Hilux now rumoured for 2024 unmasking
Use of electrification could be applied on both the 2.4 and 2.8 GD-6 engines.
Current Hilux has been on-sale since 2015 and could now be replaced in 2024 instead of lasting an entire decade as believed until now. Image: Toyota.
Having flown under the radar since its rumoured 2025 unveiling in February this year, the next generation Toyota Hilux has come under renewed focus for potentially debuting earlier than expected.
Year early?
Indirectly previewed with the all-new Tacoma in May, as it will be aligned with its Stateside cousin for the first time since 1995, the first new Hilux since the current generation bowed in 2015 will make use of the same body-on-frame TNGA-F platform and potentially feature similar styling elements inside and out.
On track to be additionally previewed by the incoming next generation Fortuner, the latest report from Japan points to 2024 now being the year of reveal.
ALSO READ: Report claims all-new Toyota Hilux debuting only in 2025
According to response.jp, the earlier than projected unveiling stems from the debut of the new Mitsubishi Triton last week that will re-enter the Japanese market in said year.
At present, Japanese buyers are limited to the Hilux as the sole one-tonne bakkie option as neither the Ford Ranger, Volkswagen Amarok, Isuzu D-Max, Nissan Navara or Mazda BT-50 are sold in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Hybrid all round
Anticipated to be smaller than the Tacoma when it becomes a reality, the online publication goes further by alleging the Hilux will continue with the current 2.4 GD-6 and 2.8 GD-6 turbodiesel engines, both with electrification as per Toyota’s mass product hybridisation strategy by 2025.
A move that will see the Hilux become a diesel/hybrid, the setup is expected to consist of a 48-volt mild-hybrid belt-starter/generator previewed in a prototype at the Safari Rally in June, and also confirmed for the next generation Fortuner.
Also rumoured but not confirmed, is the possibility of the Hilux offering the Tacoma’s 2.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine in place of the venerable 2.7, with and without hybrid assistance.
Unlikely to materialise is a replacement for the 4.0-litre V6 in the shape of the 3.5-litre badged 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 used in the Land Cruiser 300, or the 3.3-litre turbodiesel V6, both rumoured as being options for the much debated GR Hilux.
An all-electric model, previewed by the Hilux Revo BEV Concept in Thailand last year, wasn’t mentioned, but could become a reality at a later stage should approval be given.
Not the last rumour
While still shrouded in mystery, which will likely persist throughout the rest of the year, expectations are that a clearer picture could emerge not only in the guise of the Fortuner, but also the all-new Land Cruiser Prado that debut as the new US-market Land Cruiser on Wednesday (2 August).
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