Words: Richard Edwards
Published 21 May 2026
A smaller Toyota ute looks far more likely for production after the brand’s North American boss confirmed buyer demand and named the new RAV4 as its basis.
Toyota has long been linked to a compact, car-based pick-up for the US market, where the Ford Maverick and, to a lesser extent, the Hyundai Santa Cruz have built a following. Earlier this year reports suggested the project had stalled, with US tariff pressure and uncertainty over the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement blamed. Toyota North America chief executive Tetsuo Ogawa has now talked it back up.
In an interview with Automotive News, Ogawa says Toyota sees clear demand for a compact truck and that its dealers are ready for one.
His comments also settle a long-running question about the engineering. It had been assumed a small Toyota ute would be Corolla-based, riding on the compact GA-C platform. Ogawa instead points to the RAV4 as the starting point, which puts it on the larger GA-K architecture and means the finished ute may not be as small as first thought.
GA-K underpins mid-size and larger models including the RAV4, Camry and Kluger, and follows the path Ford took with the Maverick, which shares its passenger-car platform with the Escape. For Toyota it opens the door to hybrid power and the RAV4’s plug-in hybrid system, something the turbo-petrol and hybrid-only Maverick cannot offer.
The bigger platform also brings more powerful engines into reach, including the 2.4-litre turbo petrol used in Australian-market Klugers, which in hybrid form makes up to 270kW, and Toyota’s incoming new-generation turbo-petrol engines. Toyota first hinted at the format with its EPU electric ute concept in 2023.
What it means for New Zealand
The model’s US focus does not rule out a local future. It is being developed primarily for North America, but New Zealand already takes the Highlander from US production, so right-hand drive for this market is not the barrier a left-hand-drive assumption suggests. Timing is unconfirmed even for the US, though the strength of Ogawa’s comments points to a model perhaps two to three years away if it gets the green light.
There is plenty happening in the local ute market in the meantime. Toyota New Zealand launched its ninth-generation HiLux this week, a range that for the first time includes a battery electric version, with pre-orders for the Hilux BEV opening towards the end of May.
Toyota is not the only brand circling the segment as car-based utes make a comeback. Chery is reported to be developing an SUV-based ute that could reach New Zealand wearing a Jaecoo badge, possibly putting one in local showrooms before any Toyota arrives.
