Toyota is currently conducting field trials with a battery electric vehicle (BEV) prototype of the current generation Toyota Hilux in Thailand and Australia. The first tangible result of that study will soon materialize in this Toyota EPU concept, which will be making its world debut at this Wednesday’s Japan Mobility Show.

Toyota didn’t say what EPU means, but it probably stands for Electric Pick-up.

We still don’t know if this concept previews the next generation Toyota Hilux, which is due for a replacement by 2025, or will it a preview a new model that will slot below the Hilux.

The measurements of this EPU concept are indeed smaller than the current generation Hilux, at 5,070 mm long, 1,910 mm wide, and 1,710 mm tall, with a 3,350 mm wheelbase.

The current Toyota Hilux is significantly larger, at 5,325 mm long, 1,900 mm wide, and 1,815 mm tall. However, its wheelbase is much shorter, at just 3,085 mm.

The EPU's shorter body length could also be due to it being a battery electric vehicle; it doesn’t need a long front section for its powertrain. Its longer wheelbase also means that it offers far more utility space than the current Hilux.

Like the Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept, which will be debuting alongside it, the EPU concept rides on a passenger car-like monocoque chassis, raising speculations that this could be an early example of Toyota’s adoption of giga casting.

Toyota has previously mentioned that its next generation EVs will be built using giga casting techniques, similar to the method used by Tesla. However, unlike Tesla's IDRA-sourced die-casting machines, Toyota's machines were developed in Japan.

The whole point of giga casting is to reduce the number of parts, and therefore reduce the number of assembly steps and time required, to put together a car's body. It makes little sense to use giga casting to build a ladder frame chassis, which is typically used by a pick-up truck.

However, a key use for pickup trucks is towing and carrying heavy loads, jobs that are traditionally best executed using ladder frames. The counterpoint, of course, is that a 3-piece gigacasted body is just as strong.

Also, markets like Thailand offer lower excise tax rates to pick-up trucks, which are defined as vehicles riding on ladder frames, with leaf-spring rear suspension.

Circumventing this requires some foresight from policity makers in Thailand, one of Toyota’s most important markets for mid-size pick-up trucks, to amend the regulations to accommodate electric pick-up trucks.

Fierce rival Isuzu has already confirmed that it will be launching a fully electric Isuzu D-Max in Thailand in 2025. Meanwhile, Ford is co-developing an EV version of the Ranger, which the next generation VW Amarok will be based on.