Photo: Toyota
The U.S. is probably the world's largest market for pickup trucks. Last year alone (and for many years before that) over ten million such vehicles of all makes and sizes were purchased by Americans.
Naturally, the biggest players in this segment are the native American companies, but outsiders don't fall too far behind either. Toyota, for instance, is one of the main contenders, thanks to a rather small, yet effective lineup of pickups.
At the time of writing the Japanese are offering just two pickup truck models on the U.S. market, the Tacoma and the Tundra. It may seem like a reduced lineup, but Toyota seems pleased enough with it not to try a significant expansion.
When it will, however, the time of the ICE-powered pickups would have long set. So, most likely, any not-so-distant future Toyota pickup will probably be electric. And what if it would look something like this?
Enter the Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle 0, one of the several concepts the company will be bringing at the end of the month at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Show.
The vehicle is called for short IMV 0, an abbreviation of the long name listed above. It's described as a pickup-type model that returns to the origins of Toyota's IMV project, an idea the Japanese had of using truck owners and their ideas in coming up with new mobility designs.
What the IMV 0 brings to the table is not a pickup, but a platform on which customizable parts can be bolted on. A truck is only one of the possible body styles, as the platform can also support an SUV design, or a mobile home, or a variety of people movers, and even an emergency response vehicle.
The concept relies heavily on the IMV platform announced in 2002 that's already in use in some iterations on the Hilux, Fortuner, and Innova. In its current form it's a ladder frame construction that supports either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, boasting double wishbone suspension up front and longitudinally-mounted engines.
We're not told exactly what configuration the platform would use for the IMV 0 project, given how this is only a concept. We also have no information on the vehicle's drivetrain, apart from the fact it would, of course, be electric.
The concept will take a seat in the carmaker's booth at the Tokyo event, along several other crazy ideas, including the Kayoibako. That's more or less a transport van designed with inspiration taken from shipping containers, and it too is modular to some degree.
The collective Toyota display in Tokyo is called Let's Change the Future of Cars - Find Your Future, and it will also include the FT-3e and FT-Se, a next-generation EV and a high-performance one, respectively.
At the time of writing the Japanese are offering just two pickup truck models on the U.S. market, the Tacoma and the Tundra. It may seem like a reduced lineup, but Toyota seems pleased enough with it not to try a significant expansion.
When it will, however, the time of the ICE-powered pickups would have long set. So, most likely, any not-so-distant future Toyota pickup will probably be electric. And what if it would look something like this?
Enter the Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle 0, one of the several concepts the company will be bringing at the end of the month at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Show.
The vehicle is called for short IMV 0, an abbreviation of the long name listed above. It's described as a pickup-type model that returns to the origins of Toyota's IMV project, an idea the Japanese had of using truck owners and their ideas in coming up with new mobility designs.
What the IMV 0 brings to the table is not a pickup, but a platform on which customizable parts can be bolted on. A truck is only one of the possible body styles, as the platform can also support an SUV design, or a mobile home, or a variety of people movers, and even an emergency response vehicle.
The concept relies heavily on the IMV platform announced in 2002 that's already in use in some iterations on the Hilux, Fortuner, and Innova. In its current form it's a ladder frame construction that supports either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, boasting double wishbone suspension up front and longitudinally-mounted engines.
We're not told exactly what configuration the platform would use for the IMV 0 project, given how this is only a concept. We also have no information on the vehicle's drivetrain, apart from the fact it would, of course, be electric.
The concept will take a seat in the carmaker's booth at the Tokyo event, along several other crazy ideas, including the Kayoibako. That's more or less a transport van designed with inspiration taken from shipping containers, and it too is modular to some degree.
The collective Toyota display in Tokyo is called Let's Change the Future of Cars - Find Your Future, and it will also include the FT-3e and FT-Se, a next-generation EV and a high-performance one, respectively.
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