Toyota must be joking about the range of its first electric pickup

For a company that pioneered electric-petrol hybrids several decades ago, Toyota sure seems to have an odd disdain for the purely electric car.

Take its latest battery electric vehicle (BEV), for example, the new Toyota Hilux. On Monday, Toyota introduced the new vehicle, including a variant relying purely on electric power — a first for the company's popular pickup (the Hilux also comes in petrol, diesel, and hybrid versions).

Regardless of the variant, the Hilux has a revamped look which (as always) emphasises strength and toughness. It's only available as a double cab variant, and it comes with electric power steering and all-wheel drive across the range. Inside, the main infotainment display is horizontally oriented and measures up to 12.3 inches, the same size as the display in front of the driver.

It all sounds nice until you get to the battery and range. The electric version of the Hilux has a 59.2 kWh li-ion battery, with a WLTP driving range of about 149 miles, or 240 kilometers.

That, simply put, is painfully low, given that a competitor like Rivian's R1T pickup offers 270 to 420 miles of EPA range, depending on the battery. Bear in mind that Europe's WLTP testing is less stringent than the U.S. EPA standard, meaning that the Hilux will probably drop to sub-130 mile advertised EPA range.

Add to that the fact that Toyota's BEVs such as the bZ4X haven't had great real world range figures in testing, and you get an electric Hilux that probably won't take you very far, especially if you load it with stuff (which is, after all, what pickups are for).

Toyota says that the electric Hilux will go on sale starting Dec. 2025, but the price has not been announced. Hopefully, the company will introduce a variant with a larger battery, because this one is going to be a tough sell.