Toyota Tacoma ute: Australian future still in play

Toyota hasn’t ruled out bringing the Tacoma to Australia in the future, with the North American pickup potentially slotting between the HiLux and Tundra in the brand’s lineup.

Speaking to CarExpert at the launch of the new HiLux, Toyota Australia’s vice president of sales and marketing, Sean Hanley, said the brand is constantly looking at overseas models to see what might suit local buyers.

“We’re a global company, so there’s more than one way for us to bring product to market,” Mr Hanley said.

“The great thing is, we can look all around the globe, including the US. We can look over there – Europe, wherever, Africa, you know, all these different places – and say, oh, that looks like a good offering. Maybe we could bring that here.”

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For several years, unconfirmed reports suggested the previous HiLux would be replaced with an all-new model, based on the same TNGA platform as the Tacoma.

However, Toyota instead chose to release a new HiLux based on the outgoing version, with new styling, a new interior, and upgrades to suspension and technology.

Confirming the Tacoma wouldn’t replace the HiLux in the foreseeable future, Mr Hanley revealed the company was considering vehicles to add to its own portfolio from global markets.

“What I’m saying is, there’s all these other great and exciting options that we can look at.”