- Toyota RAV4 engineer says RAV4-based pickup would be ‘fascinating’.
- The automaker hasn’t planned anything ‘official’.
- Toyota recognizes that the market exists for a small truck.
Despite the great sales success of the Ford Maverick, some automakers have been in a hurry to create a competitor. Toyota has shown at least Some? Interested in creating a rival to the Maverick, a new interview suggests the company is interested in more than just bringing a small truck to market.
Speaking to the Australian outlet To driveYoshinori Futongane, chief engineer for Toyota RAV4, said the company has discussed creating a pickup based on the company’s best-selling crossover. That said, Futongane-san confirmed that the company has “no official plans” to build such a vehicle. He said:
‘The market for monocoque pickup trucks is very attractive. We all think deep in our hearts, ‘Wouldn’t this be fun?’
Rendering of a Toyota small pickup truck by Motor1
Photo by: Theophilus Chin | motor1
Demand for small trucks?
Although this interview was conducted in Australia, a market known for its love of pickup trucks (or Utes as they call them), it is much smaller than the American truck market. Australia’s best-selling vehicle in 2025 was the Ford Ranger, with only 56,555 units sold. By comparison, the Ford Series, the best-selling vehicle in the US, sold 828,832 units. Even Australia’s top seller, the Ranger, sold more in the US with 70,960 units.
As for the smaller Maverick, it bested the larger Ranger thanks to its affordable price, agile size, and available hybrid powertrain. Ford is projected to sell 155,051 units in 2025, far more than the only other vehicle in its segment, the Hyundai Santa Cruz, which sold 25,499 units. Hyundai has since announced that it will discontinue the Santa Cruz in order to build a larger, body-on-frame truck that competes with the Ranger.
Toyota knows there is demand for another truck like the Maverick, and the RAV4’s frugal hybrid powertrain and clever interior would provide a great starting point for a competitor. However, Toyota also knows it must be careful not to eat away at the Tacoma, its best-selling midsize truck, with sales of 274,638 units in 2025.
Just as the Ford F-Series has controlled the full-size market, the Tacoma has dominated the midsize segment. Although Toyota is unlikely to lose its top spot, as the Chevrolet Colorado came in second in sales last year with 107,867 units, the Japanese automaker probably won’t want to deplete one of its most successful models, even if it’s by a small amount.
Motor1’s Opinion: A Maverick rival from Toyota has been long overdue, and with the current outlook on gasoline prices, the Japanese automaker would be in for an immediate shock if it could release a truck this year. We don’t know what such a truck would be called – rumors suggest it might use the Hilux or Stout name – but we believe the market will accept it, no matter what.
