[Auto] Toyota Hilux Electric surprises in celebration of the 60 years of Toyota Thailand

[FNX Magokiler]

Toyota Thailand (TMT) is one of Toyota's largest and most important operations in the world, marking 60 years since it was established in 1962. Currently, TMT is run by 14,200 operators and three local plants (Samrong, Gateway and Ban Pho), responsible for the production of the Corolla, Corolla Cross, Yaris, Yaris Ativ, Camry, C-HR and Fortuner, but especially the Hilux pickup truck. In fact, two of these three plants manufacture it due to its high demand. In 2021, the production of these three assemblers resulted in 520 thousand units.

To celebrate this milestone, TMT made a special presentation, which was attended by the always charismatic Akio Toyoda and also by Noriaki Yamashita, president of TMT for two years and who commented on the plans to support electromobility so that at least the 30% of the cars marketed will be electric by 2030 in the country, as well as the efforts that have been made, both in the injection of capital for everything that has to do with research and development, as well as to reduce the rates of plant emissions.

At the opening of the celebration, Akio Toyoda appeared in front of the public accompanied by a spectacular "tuned" version of the Hilux Revo (in other countries it bears that last name), on the ground, with sports tires, air vents, spoilers and a widening kit. , as if it were a racing truck.

"Hello to all my friends in Thailand. Because this is such an important occasion, I thought I should make as dramatic an entrance as possible.

 

 

So I borrowed this super-prepared Hilux van from one of our clients. How about it? As you should You may have noticed, I don't just like cars... I love them! And I like nothing more than seeing our customers enjoy them as much as I do. So I want to thank all the customers in Thailand who take our products and turn them into really amazing things."

Immediately afterwards, he invites the owner of the truck to the stage and "throws the stick" at him: "hopefully he will sell it to me."

He then told some adventures of what were the beginnings of TMT and thanked the royal family of Thailand for their support. He spoke of the Soluna, which was the first car developed by TMT and also of the 2002 Hilux Vigo (IMV project), a project that he himself promoted when he was not yet the president of Toyota and that catapulted the production of the Hilux truck in Thailand.

And this is where the good stuff comes in...

The good

Toyoda introduced two important models that will be talked about both for Thailand and for markets where the Hilux is relevant. The first model is the IMV 0, a tribute to the original IMV project and consisting of a retro-futuristic style van, but designed to be very versatile, whether as a lifestyle or work vehicle. The IMV 0, according to Toyoda, is designed to support economic growth and mobility for all, so it can be deduced that it does not appear to be a 100% electric model. It will debut in another year.

On the other side of the stage, the surprise: the new Hilux BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) Concept, based on a single-cab Hilux, but with a sealed grille, a huge charging port and a chassis that shows something that could be the batteries. This is a prototype model and it is very much in line with the hydrogen version that is being tested elsewhere.

 

 

https://noticias.autocosmos.cl/2022/12/15/toyota-hilux-electrica-sorprende-en-celebracion-de-los-60-anos-de-toyota-tailandia