A pickup built on the RAV4 skeleton isn’t just a rumor. Ted Ogawa, CEO of Toyota North America, said they are looking at it. Specifically. A smaller truck. Below the Tacoma. Cheaper. More accessible.
2025 saw Toyota finish second in US new vehicle sales, just behind General Motors. Competition is heating up. Affordability is the play now. Ogawa told Automotive News that dealers are waiting for this. Really waiting. Maybe they want it today or tomorrow, but car companies don’t work on day-trading timelines.
“For the compact truck? Definitely, we has such demand.”
No date on the calendar yet. No blueprint leaked. But the demand is there.
Down in Australia, Toyota’s stance is… cautious. A local spokesperson gave the standard line about evaluating lineups regularly. They ruled out the tiny HiLux Champ before. Why? An old, thirsty 2.7-liter petrol engine. Not cool. If they bring in a RAV4 utes, it would only happen if it fit the local vibe. Maybe.
“If such a product were to become available… we would consider its suitability.”
Why build it? Look at Ford.
The Maverick is eating up the US market. It’s based on the Escape. The Escape that used to fight the RAV4. Ford sold 155,001 of them in 2025. Up 18%. It is cheap. Starts at US$28,145. That is around A$39,600 before you drive off the lot. You get a choice: petrol or hybrid.
Hyundai has the Santa Cruz, built on a Tucson. Unibody. Car-like. Both the Maverick and Santa Cruz sit differently on the road compared to the HiLux or Ranger. Those two? Body-on-frame. Off-road tools. Heavy. Different philosophy.
Toyota hinted at this future in 2023. The EPU Concept. Shown in Tokyo. A unibody pickup dream.
Let’s talk size.
The Maverick is compact.
– Wheelbase: 3076mm
– Length: 5075mm
– Height: 1748mm
The Ford Ranger is a beast.
– Length: 5370mm
– Width: 1918mm
– Wheelbase: 3270mm
The Tacoma is the smallest thing Toyota sells in North America right now. It costs US$32,440 to start. That’s A$45,700 roughly. Bigger than the HiLux here, too. In Australia, the dual-cab HiLux has a shorter wheelbase. 3350mm for Tacoma? No wait. 3350 for the Tacoma dual-cab. The current HiLux is 265mm shorter. Confusing? Yeah. But point stands: A RAV4 truck would be smaller than the Tacoma. Significantly.
Is it hybrid?
Almost certainly yes.
The RAV4 is hybrid-only in the US now. Hybrid-only in Australia since 2004? No. 2024. Gas engines are gone for that model. Why? Fuel prices.
Gas in the US hit US$8 a gallon at its peak. That hurts. US$8.00.
Here? We hit a national average of $2.44 per liter back in 2017? No, wait. March 2026 in your prompt? Okay. A record of $2.38/A. The government had to intervene. Cut the excise tax in half.
Hybrids sell.
In the US, between 55% and 60% of every Toyota sold in 2024—2.5 million units total—was a hybrid.
In Australia, nearly half of all Toyotas sold last year were hybrids too.
The Tacoma sold 274,319 copies in the US. Ninth best-selling vehicle of the year. Right behind the Camry. Right behind the RAV4 itself.
The RAV4 is the best-selling SUV here and there. Put a tray on the back of that king. Sell it cheaper than the Tacoma.
What happens?
Does it sell like the Maverick? Or do Australian buyers just laugh at the idea of a “car” that can tow?
Fuel prices stay high. Hybrids get cheaper to run. The logic is tight.
We’ll see if Toyota moves fast enough. Or if the dealers wait longer.
