multimillion-dollar investment to manufacture a truck smaller than the Hilux

The Japanese automobile giant Toyota announced an investment of 11 billion reais (about 2.2 billion dollars) to increase the production of hybrid vehicles in Brazil until 2030.

But within this multimillion-dollar investment, which in reality a part (about one billion) corresponds to a previous announcement contemplated until 2026, the manufacture of “a new model” that was not revealed by the company was also reported.

Everything would indicate that this model is about a new compact pickupto rival models such as the Fiat Toro, the Ford Maverick or the brand new RAM Rampage, and which also contrasts with hybrid propulsion systems.

The decision of the Japanese brand is to start producing its own hybrid systems. Currently, those mounted on the Corolla and Corolla Cross models that are manufactured in Brazil are components that are imported from Japan.

It is ruled out that all these developments for the Brazilian market are also available in Argentina. These “investments will promote the development of the supply chain of components for electrified vehicles, thus supporting the process of decarbonization of mobility in the country and throughout Latin America,” said Evandro Maggio, president of Toyota do Brasil.

In this way, Toyota joins a flood of investments that the Brazilian industry is having and that also aims at the electrification of the vehicle fleet, as Volkswagen, General Motors, BYD and Hyundai did recently.

The announcement that Toyota made in Brazil on Wednesday was advanced by the president of Brazil, Geraldo Alckminlast Sunday, when he published on his account X that the Japanese manufacturer would announce an investment of one billion dollars focused on the development of hybrid systems.

With the arrival of the official announcement, some confirmations appear although the Japanese brand is always quite reluctant to provide precise details of its projects well in advance.

According to media reports from the neighboring country, Toyota’s investment will be allocated to the launch of a new SUVa new truck, the renewal and generational change of the models currently marketed and at least two new hybrid engines flexas specified Autosport.

The technology flex that is used in Brazil allows gasoline engines to charge gasoline or ethanol without distinction. An electric motor is added to this to create a “flex hybrid”.

The first vehicle that will see the light of this project is a compact SUV, which should be the Yaris Cross, although Toyota has not made it official. It will come out with electrified propulsion and its launch on the Brazilian market will be at the end of this year.

Next year, the redesign of the Corolla Cross is expected to arrive, one of the best-selling SUVs on the local market and whose evolution was already previewed a few weeks ago.

It is good to remember that the renewal of the Hilux that Toyota manufactures in Zárate is also expected by 2025, which must be accompanied by the inclusion of a mild-hybrid system in the turbodiesel engine of the best-selling pickup in Argentina.

The following year would be the time for the compact truck that the Japanese brand has “hidden”. It will have to be built on a variant of the TNGA platform used to produce the Corolla and Corolla Cross, but its styling will not follow that of these models. There is no defined name yet either.

In October of last year, the Japanese brand presented a compact pickup prototype at the Japan Mobility Show that could serve as a reference. However, that concept was shown as 100% electric, while for the future regional truck there is talk of a plug-in hybrid system.