Toyota Says Electrified Trucks Make Sense Thanks To Beefy Low-End Torque

The highly competitive truck market has seen some of the greatest leaps in innovation as automakers attempt to control this highly profitable segment. Special off-road editions, luxurious interiors, and powerful engines are all used to entice customers into showrooms to purchase a new truck. In the truck segment names like Ford, Chevy, and Dodge dominate the landscape but Toyota believes their next-generation Tundra will offer a compiling product thanks to electrification. In a recent interview with CarBuzz, Sheldon Brown, Toyota’s Chief Truck Engineer explained the future of Toyota’s truck offerings.

This interview doesn’t confirm that we’ll see an electric Tundra at Toyota dealerships very soon, however, it illustrates the forward-thinking of the brand. Brown explains that truck owners value low-end torque and response when making a purchasing decision. In situations like this, Toyota can tap into decades of Hybrid powertrain development to improve the next generation Tundra.

Now a Hybrid Tundra would be far different than the Toyota Prius, which is focused on efficiency. Truck customers value ability over MPG as you’re not buying a pickup truck to save money at the pump and any increase in gas mileage is a bonus. Instead, we look to two new Toyota products are the future for the new Tundra.

First, we have the new plug-in Hybrid Rav4 Prime or one of the quickest Toyotas on the market today. The Rav4 Prime can sprint from 0 to 60 in only 5.8 seconds thanks to its powerful electric motor, which coupled with the gasoline engine offers 302 horsepower combined. Next, we have the upcoming Lexus IS sports sedan, which is set to receive a twin-turbo V6 engine in the top-level performance trim. Toyota and Lexus recently announced that V8 engine production is nearing an end so there’s a strong possibility the twin-turbo V6 will act as the V8 replacement across Toyota’s lineup.