New Toyota Hilux expected in South Africa soon

Toyota’s new bakkie, set to be launched locally by mid-year, features sharper exterior and interior looks from the Land Cruiser Prado playbook.

February 25, 2026

Jaco Van Der Merwe 1 minute read

Local bakkie buyers will have to hold out a little longer for the new Toyota Hilux. Picture: Supplied

Although an exact date has not been set for the highly-anticipated local introduction of the new Toyota Hilux, the bakkie is expected to be rolled out by ‘mid-year’.

The Citizen reports that the new Toyota Hilux was first revealed in Thailand last year. After much speculation that Toyota will showcase the bakkie during its annual state of the motoring industry address earlier this month, the carmaker focused on other models it plans to introduced this year. These included the likes of the all-new RAV4, the Land Cruiser FJ and automatic GR Corolla.

The ninth generation of South Africa’s top-selling vehicle, which will again be built at the Toyota assembly plant in Prospecton, Durban, will ride on the same innovative international multi-purpose vehicle project platform underpinning the current Hilux and Fortuner since 2015. Toyota opted against the newer Toyota new global architecture-frame platform on which the Land Cruiser 300 and Prado ride.

Despite riding on the older platform, the new Toyota Hilux’s suspension and shock absorbers has been retuned. The bakkie also features electric power steering for the first time.

The 2.8-litre GD-6 turbodiesel engine is carried over from the eight generation. It still makes 150kW of power and 500Nm of torque with the GR-Sport uprated to 165kW/550Nm. The six-speed automatic gearbox will be the only choice of transmission.

The 48V mild hybrid option has also been retained, with the 2.4-litre diesel and 2.0-litre and 2.7-litre petrol engines canned.

Prado-like interior

The sharper-looking new Toyota Hilux shares exterior design elements with the Corolla Cross and the North American Tacoma bakkie. At 5 325mm long it is 5mm shorter than the outgoing model, while its height of 1 815mm, width of 1 900mm and 3 085mm wheelbase stay unchanged.

Inside the bakkie is very similar to the Land Cruiser Prado and FJ. The cabin features a pair of 12.3-inch display, flat centre console, rectangular air vents and two-piece dashboard.

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February 25, 2026

Jaco Van Der Merwe 1 minute read

Jaco Van Der Merwe

Summary: - Oversees The Citizen Motoring’s print and digital presence - Reports on new car models, industry news and motorsports - Road tests cars and motorcycles - Joined The Citizen in 2010 as Sports Editor before becoming the Head of Motoring in 2018 - Spend 10 years at Beeld newspaper - Has worked as sub-editor, sports reporter and sports editor Experience: After starting his career as a lay-out sub-editor at the now defunct printed edition of Afrikaans newspaper Beeld in Johannesburg, Jaco went on to cover cricket, rugby, football, boxing and golf as a sports reporter. He has travelled extensively with the South African national cricket team, touring Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Northern Ireland to cover international matches. In 2019 and 2023 he explored the South American and sub-Saharan deserts respectively at the Dakar Rally along with the savanna in Kenya at the World Rally Championship in 2023. He has covered the 2003 Cricket World Cup, 2006 and 2009 ICC Champions Trophy, 2007 T20 World Cup, 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup, 2010 Afcon and Fifa World Cup qualification, world title boxing fights and European Tour golf events. He was the recipient of the Newcomer of the Year award at the SAB Sports Awards in 2003. When he takes a break from his dad’s taxi routine, you’ll find him on his Kawasaki cruiser or attempting to add to his Comrades Marathon and Ironman medals. QUALIFICATION: BA (Hons) in Business Comm (NWU) HOBBIES: Running, motorcycling, photography