This week Toyota’s chief Akio Toyoda debuted a heap of battery-electric vehicles (BEV), most of which were rounded-off urban runabouts. Two, however, jumped out at us: the Compact Cruiser EV and what I am calling the Tacoma TRD Pro EV.
I get to name it because, unlike the Compact Cruiser EV, Toyota didn’t name the truck. But, c’mon, look at it: it’s clearly a Tacoma TRD.
Toyoda said that his company will have 30 BEVs on the road by 2030. Given the popularity of electric pickups, at least among automakers, including Rivian, Hummer, Ford, and Tesla, it stands to reason that Toyota would follow up its incredibly successful Tacoma with an EV variant.
Despite leading the hybridization craze, Toyota has fallen behind its rivals in battery development. Hopefully, Toyota will put the pedal to the metal in the coming five years and leapfrog the competition and come out with a very potent battery pack.
I mean, it better. Otherwise the ostensibly compelling Compact Cruiser EV and Taco BEV would be pretty disappointing without meaningful range. And that’d be a shame because they look pretty cool.
