Toyota's Small Unibody Truck Will Be A Stroke Of Genious, And It Will NOT Be Fully-Electric

Toyota is preparing for something big, and it involves expanding US production by building more facilities. The company’s US facilities are capped and demand for certain models like the RAV4 is so vast that the only way to adapt is to expand facilities and further localize production. That’s where Project Orca comes in. Not much is known about the project aside from the fact that Toyota is planning to spend $2.0 billion on a new vehicle assembly plant, located alongside the company’s existing plant in San Antonio, Texas. 

The assembly plant already has more than 3,700 employees with an additional 5,600 employees working at various suppliers on-site. This latest extension will reportedly result in an additional 2,000 jobs. But that’s not all it will produce.  The San Antonio plant already produces up to 170,000 trucks a year. Those include body-on-frame models like the Sequoia and Tundra. More recently, the plant also started assembling axles for the Prius, which were previously assembled in a now-defunct Hino plant. 

Toyota Stout in the making, but when will it arrive?

According to Automotive News. Toyota dealers have been clamouring for a Ford Maverick rival, with a RAV4-derived design being favored. The EPU concept was shown at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show, but that was mostly due to EV regulatory relaxations. With federal EV tax incentives being a shadow of what they used to be, a compact EV truck on a unibody chassis is no longer as feasible. 

This is good because a compact unibody truck can share a platform with the popular RAV4, and utilize the same powertrains, including the 324-horsepower plug-in hybrid system. There is no reason Toyota shouldn’t do this, especially considering the now-discontinued Hyundai Santa Cruz utilized a version of the Tucson’s unibody platform. Moreover, a while back, I reported on Toyota benchmarking the Korean pickup truck and the Ford Maverick, but there is more. 

Subaru and Toyota are partnering on a variety of levels. While the two Japanese companies stopped partnering in sports car development, this doesn’t mean cross-sharing between the two carmakers won’t continue. Last year, very valid rumors surfaced, according to which Subaru may share Toyota’s vision for a light pickup truck, reviving one of its own nameplates - the Brat. 

Much is not yet known about the Subaru light pickup truck, but it will likely be sharing Toyota’s hybrid system, possibly with its own boxer engine. Another question entirely is where a Subaru truck, based on a Toyota platform will be manufactured. All BRZs were exclusively made in Japan, alongside the 86, and given that Toyota is looking to expand its US-based production, the two light trucks may be assembled side by side.

Related story: New Partnership Between Toyota, Mazda, And Subaru Ensures Exciting New Engines Are Coming

Toyota executives have reported that their US-based plants work at peak efficiency, and the only way to cater to the increasing demand is to expand with additional facilities. Hence, the $2.0-billion investment the company is planning. 

As for the Toyota Stout spiritual successor, it was initially slated to debut in 2027, likely as a 2028 model year. That said, the new facility is scheduled to begin production around 2030, which means the light truck could be postponed by around two years. CEO for Toyota North America, Tetsuo Ogawa, also mentioned a potential Toyota commercial van alongside the light pickup truck. 

“There is, of course, some opportunity for us in the commercial area, but it is new to us. We need to study more. But for the light pickup truck? Definitely, we have such a demand. 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”, Ogawa said in front of Automotive News. 

The truck will be positioned under the Tacoma and is expected to start in the low-$30,000 range, when it arrives on the US market. What do you think of Stout's long-awaited return? What engines do you want in it? Maybe the option of a manual transmission? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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About the author

Dimitar Angelov has been an automotive journalist since 2014. His passion for cars and motorcycles led him to take up classic car restoration at the Classic Car Museum in Malta. While living there, he also graduated with a Master's in Media and Communications. Aside from Torquenews, his work can also be seen on Topspeed.com, HotCars.com, Motorheads.com, Jalopnik.com, and his own website, Ridereverie.com, where he also includes motorcycle content.

Other relevant experiences in the automotive scene include working at a Toyota dealership, professional driving, and automotive insurance. Dim is happy to get behind the wheel of any car and share his impressions. You can follow Dimitar on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
 

Image source: Toyota EPU press