The Ford Maverick, Hyundai Santa Cruz, and Honda Ridgeline have had the small pickup truck market to themselves for a while now, but it sounds like Toyota is looking into getting a slice of that pie. In an interview with The Japan Times, Toyota’s North American chief operating officer Mark Templin said “We’re looking at it,” in response to U.S. dealer requests for a compact pickup slotting under the midsize Tacoma.
Considering the fact that even Slate, a whole unproven startup, is putting all its eggs in the compact truck basket, it’s kind of surprising Toyota hasn’t brought out a vehicle like this already. The Japanese automaker pretty much has all the ingredients in place to make it happen, including stateside manufacturing facilities. Take the unibody TNGA-K bones and proven hybrid powertrains from, say, that snazzy new RAV4 and give it mini-Taco styling and a bed in the back. Toyota big boss Koji Sato was recently quoted saying, “A car is not a car if it’s not fun”—a pickup RAV4 would be hella fun.
And I don’t think I’m alone in thinking this. In 2024, the two best-selling cars in the U.S. were the Ford F-Series and Chevy Silverado. Nipping at their heels at number three? The Toyota RAV4, of which 475,000 were sold. Combine the compact crossover’s wild popularity with this country’s insatiable appetite for the truck form, and it’s hard to see how a small Toyota pickup would be a losing proposition.
Unibody truck naysayers may rebut by pointing to relatively weak Hyundai Santa Cruz and Honda Ridgeline sales—Hyundai sold just 32,000 pickups in 2024 (down 13% from ’23) while Honda moved 45,000 Ridgelines (also a 13% drop year-over-year). But I have a pet theory that those two vehicles aren’t that popular not because they are small or aren’t body-on-frame but more because Hyundai and Honda aren’t really known as truck brands. Classic truck brand Ford, meanwhile, sold 131,000 Mavericks last year (a 39% growth) despite that vehicle sharing bones with the Escape.
In other words, the badge on the nose matters to truck people, arguably more than it does with any other segment of vehicle. Perhaps not the best thing to hear if you’re Slate, but Toyota has been building trucks now with success for decades now, and it’s time to cash in on that brand equity with something even those shopping on the Corolla end of the price spectrum can afford.
Got a tip or question for the author about a new, small Toyota pickup? You can reach him here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com
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