Plans for a smaller ute from Toyota appear much more likely for showrooms after comments out of North America.
Toyota has admitted "we have demand" for a smaller ute to rival the popular Ford Maverick sold in the US, using the platform of the latest RAV4 family SUV.
The Japanese car giant has long been linked to a compact pick-up on a car-derived 'monocoque' platform, aimed at the US market, where the Maverick and, to a lesser extent, the Hyundai Santa Cruz have grown a following.
Toyota North America CEO Tetsuo Ogawa has now given the best hint yet that a smaller pick-up model is in development.
"For the compact truck? Definitely, we have such demand," Ogawa told Automotive News, when asked about the opportunity for a compact Toyota ute.
Until this point, it has been believed that such a compact model would be Corolla-based, suggesting it would be spun off Toyota’s compact ‘GA-C’ arm of the brand's modular platform family.
He also provided a key piece of engineering information about the new model, indicating it would be RAV4-based, rather than a Corolla derivative.
"A RAV4-based pickup is an opportunity for us, and the dealers are waiting. Maybe they say we need today or tomorrow, but it takes time."
Despite a number of shared components between the GA-C and GA-K platforms, the news of a RAV4-derived ute means that the coming compact ute may not be as small as first believed.
The GA-K chassis is typically used on mid-size and large vehicles, like the RAV4, Camry, and Kluger, as well as overseas models like the Grand Highlander and Century SUV, and Lexus ES, NX, and RX.
The latest remarks suggest the compact pick-up could closely follow the format laid out by key rival, the Ford Maverick, which shares its passenger-car-based platform with medium SUVs like the Ford Escape and Bronco Sport.
In Toyota’s case, this opens the door to hybrid powertrain compatibility, including the RAV4’s plug-in hybrid system, which would give it a selling point the Maverick can't match, with turbo-petrol and ‘closed-loop’ hybrid only in Ford’s current line-up.
The bigger Toyota platform also opens the door to using engines from further up the Toyota hierarchy, including the 2.4-litre turbo petrol engine seen previously in Australian Klugers which, in other models, is paired with hybrid tech to develop 270kW.
Toyota also has a line-up of new-generation turbo-petrol engines due soon, which could be used.
Timing for the new model remains unknown, if it is given the green light, but the strength of the comments suggest it may be two to three years away.
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
