Toyota‘s HiLux and Tacoma battle the Ford Ranger whereas the burly Tundra tackles the F-150, however the Japanese big currrently has no different to the Ford Maverick.

That might change per a report from Automotive Information, which says Toyota is weighing a Corolla-based ute.

The American outlet says this car stays beneath dialogue, and would doubtless be constructed alongside the Corolla within the firm’s plant in Mississippi.

Ought to or not it’s permitted, it reportedly gained’t go on sale till not less than 2027.

It’s additionally unclear whether or not Toyota would export this mannequin from the US, because it does with the Kluger, or manufacture it in different vegetation for markets like ours.

Alternatively, it could possibly be a left-hand drive unique just like the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz it will ostensibly rival.

Although Corolla-derived, it appears doubtless the ute would put on a special nameplate, in contrast to the Corolla Cross SUV.

Toyota might have a couple of sub-HiLux ute within the works.

The corporate just lately previewed a modular idea referred to as the IMV 0, regarded as constructed on a model of the HiLux’s ladder-frame underpinnings and that includes comparable styling to the Compact Cruiser idea.

Toyota South Africa executives additionally just lately spoke of an upcoming mannequin that “gained’t be a half-ton [ute]”.

“We imagine it should take the market by storm and are nonetheless doing a whole lot of growth round it,” Leon Theron, Toyota South Africa vp for gross sales and advertising, instructed South African media.

The upcoming ute will launch in 2025 or 2026, slotting in beneath the HiLux on worth.

It is going to be geared toward growing markets round Africa, amongst different locations – small, reasonably priced utes are standard in Latin America, the place Toyota doesn’t at the moment provide something smaller or cheaper than the HiLux.

The forms of gentle business automobiles supplied in markets like South Africa, Thailand and Latin America have typically differed over time.

The US-built Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz, for instance, aren’t bought in South Africa, whereas car-derived utes just like the smaller Latin American Chevrolet Montana and Fiat Strada have by no means been supplied within the US.