Toyota to develop small EV vans, hydrogen trucks

Toyota is set to begin developing a series of electrified commercial vehicles, alongside industry allies Suzuki, Daihatsu, Isuzu, and Hino.

Toyota confirmed earlier this week that it plans to build a run of just over 500 electrified commercials for internal usage, with hopes of taking the resulting vehicles to the market in due course.

Toyota will tap Suzuki and Daihatsu for assistance with developing a compact electric vans, and separately will be assisted by Isuzu and Hino in developing a hydrogen fuel cell light-duty truck platform.

The van has been classified as a ‘mini-commercial vehicle’, meaning it’s likely that they will conform to Japan’s unique ‘kei car’ vehicle regulations. This reduces the odds of seeing these vehicles released in other markets like New Zealand.

While kei car commercial vehicles are a rarity in New Zealand (most enter the country as Japanese imports), they account for 60% of Japan’s commercial fleet.

The popularity stems from the density of Japan’s most populated areas, and the subsequent need for commercial vehicles that can navigate through them effectively.

The truck on the other hand could have more global potential.

The electrified light truck segment has expanded significantly lately, with Mitsubishi’s Fuso brand and Chinese firm JAC both already offering dedicated EV products in New Zealand.

Isuzu and Hino, meanwhile, have already confirmed that they are currently developing electric light trucks of their own for their respective Elf and Dutro line-ups.

The initial run of test vehicles is set to be used by Toyota’s channels between Tokyo and Fukushima Prefecture.

The project is set to commence in January of 2023, and run to March 2030.

In its announcement, Toyota noted that it remains concerned about the higher initial costs of electrified commercial vehicles in Japan, the costs of developing charging infrastructure, and the time it takes to charge an electric vehicle.

This is the second electric van announcement Toyota has made in the last two months, following confirmation in May that its European division would be developing a large van platform alongside Stellantis.

Toyota already offers electric vans in Europe, in the form of its Proace line-up.

Toyota New Zealand general manager of product planning, Steve Pragnell, told EVs & Beyond in May that the brand’s local arm would be keen to offer an electric van locally if the opportunity presented itself.

“Due to the commercially sensitive nature of future product plans, we are unable to share any local information at this stage. However, if we were offered an electric version of a van for the local market, we would consider it as part of our product planning for the future,” Pragnell said.