I wasn't sure where to discuss the speculation of a possible compact pickup truck, so I figured I would start a new thread.
The rumor mill for this pickup began at last year's HQ confidential, where Bob Carter, executive vice president of sales for TMNA, told Motortrend that Toyota was analyzing the compact pickup truck segment after the success of the Ford Maverick. Bob mentioned Toyota was examining customers needs by adding "If there's a customer that needs a rugged, smaller body-on-frame vehicle (mini land cruiser rumor?), we can consider that, but if it's more for urban use and less extreme off-road, then it would make more sense to use the TNGA unibody platform." Carter finished by telling Motortend that "it will be worth the trip" to attend HQ confidential 3 if it had happened in June.
Since last June there hadn't been much to fuel the speculation until a recent article from Automotive News. Automotive News inquired about the status of the compact pickup to which David Christ, TMNA's Group VP and GM, said they don't have anything planned, and there won't be anything announced during the dealership convention happening this week in Vegas even going so far to add "I won't even say 'yet' because that would suggest it's coming."
However, Steve Gates, chairman of the Toyota National Dealer Council, implied that the business case is there believing "a downsized truck would generate great volume without hampering demand for larger pickups like the Tacoma or Tundra." Additionally, the small truck could help with strict fuel economy and emission standards, and dealer demand is strong.
So that brings us to yesterday, when YouTubers TRD JON, Kirk Kreifels and ToyotaJeff Reviews, who all mainly focus on Toyota content, all re-posted to their Instagram story the same Instagram post from Toyota about the 1966 Toyota Stout.
Now at the moment, there is no trademark for the Stout in the US or any sort of spy images. There has been no inside leak confirming or denying its existence that I've seen. And the instagram stories I mentioned above could all just be a coincidence. However, with all that said, I can't help but believe that this truck is coming and possibly soon.
The rumor mill for this pickup began at last year's HQ confidential, where Bob Carter, executive vice president of sales for TMNA, told Motortrend that Toyota was analyzing the compact pickup truck segment after the success of the Ford Maverick. Bob mentioned Toyota was examining customers needs by adding "If there's a customer that needs a rugged, smaller body-on-frame vehicle (mini land cruiser rumor?), we can consider that, but if it's more for urban use and less extreme off-road, then it would make more sense to use the TNGA unibody platform." Carter finished by telling Motortend that "it will be worth the trip" to attend HQ confidential 3 if it had happened in June.
Since last June there hadn't been much to fuel the speculation until a recent article from Automotive News. Automotive News inquired about the status of the compact pickup to which David Christ, TMNA's Group VP and GM, said they don't have anything planned, and there won't be anything announced during the dealership convention happening this week in Vegas even going so far to add "I won't even say 'yet' because that would suggest it's coming."
However, Steve Gates, chairman of the Toyota National Dealer Council, implied that the business case is there believing "a downsized truck would generate great volume without hampering demand for larger pickups like the Tacoma or Tundra." Additionally, the small truck could help with strict fuel economy and emission standards, and dealer demand is strong.
So that brings us to yesterday, when YouTubers TRD JON, Kirk Kreifels and ToyotaJeff Reviews, who all mainly focus on Toyota content, all re-posted to their Instagram story the same Instagram post from Toyota about the 1966 Toyota Stout.
Now at the moment, there is no trademark for the Stout in the US or any sort of spy images. There has been no inside leak confirming or denying its existence that I've seen. And the instagram stories I mentioned above could all just be a coincidence. However, with all that said, I can't help but believe that this truck is coming and possibly soon.
