Toyota has been the market leader in hybrid technology in Australia for more than two decades – and that’s also the case around the world. Electrification, in some form, has even available across the Toyota range in Australia for some time, now and patents uncovered by CarBuzz in the United States hint that the brand is already looking at ways to integrate PHEV tech into its full-size pickup trucks.
In the US, plug-in technology is currently only available in RAV4 or Prius, but it looks like a plug-in version of its pickup is on the way, with the HiLux likely to follow a similar path, once the technology is available.
As noted by CarBuzz, the patents show a wide variety of packaging and battery positioning options, for plug-in variants of Tacoma, Tundra or similar vehicles. Six different patents, all published on March 5th, show batteries under the tray, or under the seats in different configurations.
One example shows the batteries all under the load tray, while another shows the battery placed in two different packs – one beneath the tray and the other inside the tray. There’s also an L-shape arrangement, in the same positions.
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While there’s no guarantee the tech could see its way to production in the form it’s currently in within the patents, they do show that Toyota is looking at PHEV tech for it’s commercial vehicles, recognition that it’s technology that is growing in popularity. It’s also indicative that there’s more than one way to package the tech in a vehicle like a truck.
A plug-in hybrid Tundra or HiLux wouldn’t be the first PHEV in that segment, with BYD, GWM and Ford all offering the technology in traditionally-sized dual-cab platforms. In the US, competition in the full-size segment is fierce, with stalwarts RAM, GM and Ford all vying for market share.
The full-size segment continues to grow in popularity in Australia, as well, with RAM ticking past 50,000 trucks sold since launching in the Australian market as a remanufactured RHD platform.
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