Toyota launched a public transport pilot in Thailand on Thursday with nine fully electric Hilux Revo pickup trucks.
A Reuters report noted the country is a key south east Asian battleground for electric vehicles where Chinese players are challenging the dominance of Japanese automakers.
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“The battery EV Revo have been modified into song-taews for public transportation,” Toyota Motor Thailand executive vice president Surapoom Udomwong told the news agency on Thursday, referring to the pickup trucks that have been re-purposed for public transit.
A motorcade of Toyota electric pickup trucks drove through the Thai seaside city of Pattaya 100km (62 miles) east of Bangkok where the vehicles were deployed for fixed route transit.
Reuters said the world’s top selling automaker’s move in Thailand came as Chinese EV brands make inroads into the region’s main auto assembly and export hub.
Japanese carmakers, such as Toyota, Honda and Isuzu have for decades dominated the Thai auto sector but government subsidies and tax incentives have brought a wave of investment from China, with its EV automakers committing $1.44bn worth of investments in Thailand.
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By GlobalDataChery Automobile would be the eighth Chinese brand to invest in the country, following BYD, state-owned Changan Automobile and Great Wall Motors, the government told Reuters this week.
Toyota, which controls about a third of the Thai market, would deliver a dozen electric pickup trucks to Pattaya.
City mayor Poramet Ngampichet said: “Pattaya is a major tourist city for Thailand and so lowering pollution is important.”
Poramet said he hoped to convert Pattaya’s total fleet of 700 song-taews into EVs.
Reuters noted Toyota had previously announced plans to mass produce the battery Hilux pickup truck by 2025 but did not specify where they would be made.
Pickup trucks are popular in Thailand, accounting for about half of vehicle sales, the report added.
Isuzu would set up a plant in Thailand to make the electric version of its D-Max pickup truck, with plans for domestic sales and exports, according to the Thai government.
