Toyota (NYSE:TM) executives announced, Thursday, plans to conduct trials for a new electric pick-up truck in Thailand. This move represents the company's ongoing endeavors to strengthen electric vehicle sales in the region, as it faces mounting competition from Chinese counterparts that are challenging its market position.
EVP of Toyota Daihatsu Engineering & Manufacturing, Pras Ganesh said that the automaker will trial a small number of EV pickups in the coastal city of Pattaya at the beginning of next year. These pickups will be evaluated for their potential application as 'songthaews', a type of pickup commonly adapted for use as taxis in various Southeast Asian nations.
Notably, Chinese EV manufacturers are swiftly capturing a larger market share in Thailand. In an effort to expand internationally amid a slowdown in domestic sales, these companies have committed around $1.5 billion for establishing new manufacturing facilities within the country.
According to Ganesh, the company's engineers are currently focusing on customizing their electric pickups to suit local conditions in Thailand. Simultaneously, they are reinforcing the electric vehicle (EV) research and development capacity within the country. Thailand serves as one of Toyota's five global research and development centers.
Pick-up trucks play a vital role in Thailand's automotive market, making up half of all vehicle sales in 2022. According to research conducted by MarkLines, Toyota held a 39% market share in the one-ton pickup truck segment during the first nine months of this year.
Over the past decade, Toyota and its affiliated companies have collectively invested approximately $7 billion in Thailand. The automaker previously indicated that it may possibly manufacture EVs in the country.
Nevertheless, in an announcement on Wednesday, Toyota revised down its projection for global battery EV sales by 39% for the current fiscal year ending in March 2024. This adjustment is partly attributed to constraints in vehicle lineups.
Shares of TM are down 0.36% in pre-market trading on Wednesday.