While at the Overland Expo in Colorado this past weekend, I was amazed to find an inexpensive Toyota truck not offered for sale here in the U.S. That truck is the adorable $15,000 Toyota Hilux Champ sold in Thailand, Indonesia, and The Philippines, and Toyota was showing off an off-road version to see if America might be interested.
As we’ve learned in our coverage of REO, a new company established ostensibly to sell a cheap, back-to-basics pickup truck in the U.S., there is lots of demand for simplicity in a marketplace filled with overpriced, overcomplicated trucks. Slate, too, is trying to capitalize on this interest. It’s not a surprise, then, that, when Toyota’s Thailand division showed off its Hilux Champ a few years ago with a starting price the equivalent of $13,000, Americans became obsessed.
Americans want inexpensive, back-to-basic pickup trucks (or, at least we say we do), and the Hilux Champ is as back-to-basics as it gets, as Mercedes wrote in her coverage of the Southeast Asian workhorse:
In late 2022 during Toyota Motor Thailand’s 60th anniversary celebrations, the automaker pulled the covers off of what it called the Toyota IMV 0. This trucklet is based on the same platform underpinning the Hilux but with extreme cost-cutting to bring the price down. The result was the Toyota Hilux Champ, which made its debut last year. Toyota says the Champ is about going back to its roots of providing truly affordable workhorses for the masses.
The little ‘Yota is still a capable truck and is designed from customer input, but costs about $13,000 at current exchange rates compared to about $17,000 for the regular Hilux. That’s some good savings! Of course, it’s hard to compare the two very different markets of the United States and Thailand, but think of the Hilux Champ as being like Thailand’s Ford Maverick, a truck for those who don’t want to or can’t pay for an expensive truck. Only, the Toyota is still a body-on-frame rear-wheel-drive truck.
To illustrate just how cheap the Hilux Champ is, the standard configuration for the truck calls for 14-inch steel wheels, no radio, no screens, no tachometer, just one sun visor, a PVC bench seat, and manual transmission, just like the old days. You can even have any color you want, so long as it’s grayscale. However, it’s not completely stuck in the past as the Thailand market version comes with ABS, power windows, and two airbags. Its interior also looks like a scaled-down version of Toyota’s big trucks and I love that.
Toyota noticed this interest and decided to take action, flying the chief engineer and a modified Hilux Champ all the way to Colorado to show off this vehicle at the Overland Expo Mountain West show this past weekend:
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My friends at The Fast Lane Truck interviewed Jurachart Jongusuk, the Thai chief engineer of the Hilux Champ, and Don Federico, Vice President of Vehicle Performance Development and Chief Engineer of Special Mobility Operations.
“We’re constantly exploring mobility,” Federico told TFL. “We heard the voice from the internet and customers when it launched in Thailand — ‘Wow this would be awesome to have here in the U.S.’ So we wanted to bring it in this concept form as a recreation/overlander/utility product for off-road use only, and wanted to see what customers would say.”
Jongusuk described some of the modifications to the stock Champ shown below, a vehicle that is normally a rather low-riding, rear-wheel-drive, long-bed commercial vehicle and not really an off-roader. “The expectation of US people is totally different,” he said, mentioning that the vehicle had been converted to 4×4, it features a different engine, and its bed has been shortened for improved off-road capability. It’s also been lifted and outfitted with larger, more aggressive tires.
As mentioned in the interview below, as with Toyota’s side-by-side concept, this Champ concept tried to leverage the company’s existing parts bin. In this case, the vehicle used various components from the Toyota FJ Cruiser offered overseas. That’s this vehicle:
Federico says the concept vehicle has a V6, though he also calls it a “1GD,” which is an inline-four as I understand, so that’s not clear to me. Per TFL, the stock 2GD-FTV and five-speed manual found in the Champ has been replaced with some sort of 4.0-liter V6 gas motor and six-speed auto. Here’s more from TFL:
It has a 4Hi/4Lo transfer case, a solid rear axle with a locking differential, and a lifted suspension. The engineer told us that the front suspension mounts are the same as on a 3rd-generation Toyota Tacoma.
Many of the parts you see here are interchangeable with some other Toyota vehicles. The enterior has a modern look, but it’s very simple. There is very little sound insulation. There is a vinyl floor and vinyl seats. However, it appears to have a climate control system with AC and power windows. The interior is comfortable and functional, but the driver’s seat is a little too low for my liking. The sitting position is similar to the 3rd-generation Tacoma.
Toyota says a Hilux Champ concept may have up to 1,700 lbs of payload and 5,500 lbs of towing capacity. These are great numbers for a vehicle this size.
I personally don’t get this as an off-road-only vehicle. This Hilux Champ 4×4 is just a normal, old-school truck from a few years ago; to me, it’s not enough of a toy. For one, it’s too big and heavy (3,000+ pounds) to be amazing off-road, and its suspension geometry isn’t exactly going to wow anyone on the gnarly stuff either. What’s more, can Toyota really get it cheaper than the much lighter (~1,800 pounds), likely more-capable $20,000 Polaris Ranger ($23,000 for the four-door), for example?
Then again, a Toyota badge goes a long way. And as a farm-use workhorse that can tow and haul (possibly 1,700 lbs of payload and 5,500 lbs of towing capacity, per TFL!), this thing could indeed be a Champ, especially for folks in states that allow side-by-sides on the road.
Top graphic images: David Tracy; Toyota
There must be some something something in the Singha beer over there. The Thais have some very interesting ideas about motor vehicles. My understanding is that Honda’s ADV line of scooters was designed and are built there. Their manufacturing is good enough that Nikon manufactures some of their lenses there.
Yeah, Toyota misunderstood. We already have vehicles that meet “average Americans’ expectations,” we have too many of them, that’s the problem.
People want this precisely BECAUSE it’s nothing like what we already have, not because it looks “cool” or whatever nonsense they seem to think we like about it.
People begged for the Hilux Champ because the idea of being able to buy basic no-nonsense reliable transportation that can also get some work done for $13,000 new is so out-of-reach in America that it’s not even funny.
We are desperate for an affordable new vehicle of any sort, but if it’s not road-legal, there is literally zero point to the whole thing.
Lose the 4wd V6 overlanding nonsense, put the four-banger back under the hood, and find some way to make it road legal in the US for under $20k, and people will flock to buy it not because it’s cool-looking (it’s hideous, actually) or represents a lifestyle image (Thai farmers are pretty cool though), but because it’s got four wheels and a roof, gets you from A to B, and is dirt cheap.
Yeah, our laws make that task stupid difficult, especially if you’re trying to achieve profit margins shareholders will like, but if that is too much to ask of the Hilux Champ then don’t bother bringing it. An offroad-only toy is NOT what the masses are asking for. People literally just want a cheap utilitarian vehicle they can commute in.
100% correct, Austin.
Toyota, build it and sell it here before the Chinese beat you to it.
The line of buyers will be out the door.
Well, the 25% tariff/chicken tax and the costs of federalization means it couldn’t be sold for under $20k. And then there is the fact that Americans seem to be allergic to buying base models, so I don’t see them selling a ton.
I want that Toyota literally more than any Toyota since the 80s and 90s.
Agreed
I’d buy one with a turbo-ed engine, a manual transmission, and a manual 4WD transfer case
As others have mentioned, even if they imported this as an off road only vehicle , I can definitely see a market. On industrial sites, farms, ranches, larger job sites, etc. Its more than a side by side for side by side money. Why not? Plus a Toyota badge to boot. And i like the look.
Yeah, kinda silly bring it here when you would sell all of 50 of ’em. Unless they can cheaply make it fully road legal, which seems very unlikely to me, as well. That market, as David points out, is just too small. It’s not zero, but it isn’t big.
Dealers would have no incentives to order these or sell them over a high-margin Tacoma.
People want them. Dealers don’t.
If Toyota sold these direct in the USA, they would be an instant hit.
Why the fork is it lifted?
Short bed, well that might be useful, no harm in multiple bolt on beds. Why not make the bed a dealer installed option like in the old days. Or dealer deleted option. Make sure to keep the drop sides/stake bed design.
Why 4wd ? A locking dif would be fine or just dual parking brakes.
I get it that this was at an off road event, but it’s not a Jimny people are clamoring for but a truck with good visibility, reasonable size, that can carry a reasonable load in traffic
Dual parking brakes! That’s actually a super clever concept. Is that something people actually do to their cars? Come to think of it, that’d probably be pretty trivial to do to my Tracker…
Sorry for my ignorance, but what is the functionality of dual parking brakes in the context of off-roading/locking diffs?
I’m assuming the idea would be that if one of your rear wheels has lost traction, and your open differential is sending all power to that wheel, you could then pull a parking brake for that wheel, locking it up, and sending the power through the differential back to the other wheel, which hopefully still does have traction
aaah ok, i get it. I was thinking dual meant front and rear.
Front only could work as a linelock.
It was pretty common in rally cars in the 50s and 60s.
We had some pickups on the farm with dual fly-off handbrakes. 4x4s with open diffs would just get stuck at both ends.
I randomly saw a 4-door truck version of one of these last week in Austin TX. bigger than a KEI, but not Taco sized. It was a work truck for an electrician. It was a blacked out, lifted, and on AT tires. It smoked like it had a stick and a diesel, and the windows were up in 105 degree weather so it had A/C. Looked super practical and unique. It was probably 25yr JDM because it was right hand drive. There are a lot of JDM imports here.
I think he meant to say 1GR. But if they’re considering all this they may as well just bring over the LC FJ and build the Scion SxS instead.
Anyone remember the Plymouth “Champ” aka “Chump”.
I owned one. Loved the twin stick transmission 8 lovely gears to row. I got rid of it when my son was born and the only way to get him into his car seat was thru the back hatch
As a utility truck? These would actually be great. I did maintenance/custodial on a college campus to put myself through school, and the maintenance trucks at the time were Chevy 1500’s. Full-size trucks driving on campus sidewalks was a definitively subpar experience. So there’s a use case there. Likewise, if you’re a washer-and-dryer seller in, say, Boston or New York, these would be great combined with a liftgate. There are lots of use cases for small trucks.
As an offroader? This is not what I’d want. I’m typing this from a 3rd gen 4Runner, which is 3600 pounds from the factory, has dual airbags, and has such niceties as air conditioning. It also came stock with 16-inch wheels and didn’t require any wonkiness with respect to the engine and transmission to be offroad capable.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the Hilux. But the Champ is not an offroader. Toyota already has the Overlanding and offroading niches filled with (take your pick) of the LC, 4Runner, Sequoia, Taco, Tundra, all of which sit on the universal platform and run the turbo 4. People who want to offroad on the cheap will buy a Taco or 4Runner, used; people who want to buy new will just buy a new 6th gen 4Runner. The Champ does not fit the niche.
I figured Toyota might try a off road only utv competitor with the champ. I just don’t know anyone will want to walk into a Toyota dealer to get one. They really need a sub brand to sell them and possible kei in the future. You can buy a new off road only kei truck in the US for about $20k to $25k. At under $20k the champ would likely be considered for farm use. In states where you can register utv for on road use could also be interesting.
Toyota also has a fairly large farm equipment business. Maybe they’re thinking of expanding that to North America. It would be quite an incentive to get a free work truck with every tractor sold while still undercutting Deere.
Maybe, I know most of their efforts have been in smart / autonomous farming. Probably a good time to get into the market if they want to. They could probably use their forklift dealers to some extent.
Toyota could call their ‘sub-brand’ something unique and still distinctly Japanese sounding…
Something like…
DAIHATSU 😉
They need to bring Daihutsu back to the us for sure. I guess the champ fits that. Maybe it fits scion better being a low spec Toyota. Sharing is what toyota does so it works I guess. Hijet, move canbus, taft, thor; at the very least need to be sold as well.
Quick internets (series of tubes…) search. Toyota sadly killed off the Scion brand 10 years ago now (in 2016).
I totally agree with Toyota bringing more vehicle options to USDM!
Somewhat surprisingly to me given how large Toyota is… they only have 3 other brands
1. Lexus – of course their luxury brand
2. Daihatsu – super value focused brand
3. Hino – heavy duty commercial vehicles brand
In a real way I guess above makes sense.
USDM certainly seems like there are Large gaps for affordable models with very few established players willing to fill that gap for fear of impacting their cash cow existing offerings & for start ups, its a Long capital intensive road (like 15-20+ years long) to gain a footing here
So if they were to bring the Hilux Champ here and they thought they needed to brand distinguish it… Slapping on the Daihatsu badge seems like the logical choice
Certainly the brand messaging for both Toyota And Daihatsu would have to be super crisp bc bringing another brand here didnt go so hot for the Scion brand and it could confuse Americans and potentially dilute the Toyota brand here. I’m sure the launch and shuttering of the Scion brand is still very much in sr. Toyota mgmt. minds
They could have brought daihutsu back in 03 instead of scion but they had just left the market about a decade earlier. So maybe they thought too fresh. It didn’t work out of daihutsu but they were able to establish Lexus in the US by taking some of their models and up badging them. Daihutsu is also still a brand doing it so own thing maybe like Buick of the 50s would be to GM. Just maybe with more latitude. They are now in a position they are basically one of two kei car manufacturers. Honda and Nissian dabble but don’t sell tons. It’s mainly on daihutsu and Suzuki.
So I see Toyotas logic in 03 as Daihutsu failed a decade ago our up badge Lexus worked let’s do a down badge so scion is born and never made it out of the US market. Lexus was US only for close to 15 years. Everywhere else they were Toyotas. Maybe it part of the us dealership problem that other countries don’t suffer as much.
Alot of the Toyota dealers had outpost for Daihutsu. I don’t think it was something they were given but they bought in and thought it could be like Toyota. Scion was given to them and they didn’t do right by it. Toyota knows they have a problem with us distribution and dealers. I’m not sure they know what to do. I can’t really see them bringing back scion the Toyota dealers didn’t do it any favors. But I’m not sure I can see them doing daihutsu the same way either.
Maybe down badging doesn’t work in the US. Chrysler was the only big 3 that was really a thing with. Kia was already an established brand in the nus when Hyundai bought them. So the real answer might be for Toyota to suck it up and badge daihutsus and other cheap cars as Toyota. While trying to handle dealers. Not owning the distributor is causing them way too many problems. Maybe also bring the line of Subaru badged daihutsu to the us for Subaru dealers to sell without horrific behavior.
The speed at which our infrastructure is failing will soon enough render “off-road only” meaningless.
“Michigan-spring-roads” for everyone!
I don’t know about that. There are “lots” of internet comments saying that’s what they want, but I don’t see any evidence of actual demand for a “simple, back-to-basics” truck.”
You can still buy fleet versions of just about every truck model out there today, but consumers don’t buy them.
There will be a million people in your replies offering excuses for this, but you’re 100% right.
I’ll eat crow if Slate is a runaway success, but I’m not holding my breath on that. Or this if it comes here.
Yeah, I think the folks at Slate and Reo are going to need to polish the ol résumés soon.
A fleet spec RAM 1500 Tradesman is over $42,000
Which is still a significant savings over the $55k-$60k MSRP volume trims and less than half of the top luxury trims. And the only thing you get for all that money is “overcomplication.”
Yet just about everybody buying a RAM is opting to pay more for convenience and comfort.
Sure, there are plenty of people like me (and I assume most commenters here) that aren’t shopping anywhere near the $60k range and not even in the $40k range and would love a truck in the $20’s or whatever, but the reality for the OEMs is that most of us still choose a used truck with some features at $20k vs a stripped down fleet vehicle (which are still also available on the used market).
Lots of people are terrified of buying used cars, fact, and will take what passes for a base new model by modern standards vs something nicer that’s a year or two older for the same price
I’m still not convinced there’s a huge overlap between people who are terrified to buy anything used and people who are cool with forgoing basic comfort, convenience, and styling features to save a few thousand dollars, though.
I think this argument for back-to-basics cars or trucks overestimates how much can be saved by pulling out screens, electric windows, and soft touch plastics and underestimates how much the average consumer is willing to pay for those niceties.
If you could build a RAM with the base Pentastar, a short cab, a long bed, a manual transmission, a vinyl bench seat, and no carpet, no screen, no radio, no sound deadening, etc and sell it for a profit at $20k I think you might have some buyers. But that’s just not ever going to be the case.
Even taking all that stuff out, I estimate you might be at a sales price of $35k. And suddenly every person who test drives it is going to think, “wow, this thing is not very comfortable or enjoyable. I think I’ll spring for the Express or Big Horn”
Frankly, I think $20k is the appeal more than how Spartan it is. Sell anything that is not a modern Ford Aspire for $20k new and I think the buyers line up. If they figure out lending to those with low credit scores it would be hard to find one. It being a truck -I think- makes the lack of niceties a little easier to swallow for most.
And huge. Anything smaller is available only as a crewcab or at best a 2 door extended cab.
If this truck came out exactly like this today, I bet every review would love that it’s a new basic truck, then rake it over the coals for lack of sound deadening and comfort of the vinyl seats. (I can see the comments now about how a new vehicle shouldn’t have this much road noise). The basic truck crowd would all take a look, find a silly reason why they wouldn’t buy one, than ask why anyone would buy this when a used Tacoma/Ranger/S-10 is readily available on Marketplace for $4-8K.
Bingo. And it would still cost $15k-20k minimum.
I could see the argument if pulling out all the “overcomplication” resulted in a price drop of 50% vs the standard car/truck, but electric windows, etc just don’t add that much to the cost of the car and have a huge perceived value.
$20k MSRP is a drop of 50% vs the standard car/truck price
I didn’t phrase that the best, but what I mean is that if you take a standard RAM at $55k or so, then strip out all the “overcomplications”, you end up with the Tradesman at $42k, and we can see by sales what consumers choose. American buyers want the extra features, and pay for them. They don’t tend to buy the simple, stripped down versions.
They might choose the Tradesman at $25k or so (or a 50% savings), but it’s not possible to make it that cheap just by taking out features.
For the Champ (or the Slate), I would estimate the stripped out, fleet style version at $17k or so. If they sold that alongside a version with Carplay and soft touch interior at $25k, I think they’d get a lot more sales of the “overcomplicated” version.
But even then I think the 4-door, unibody Maverick (or Fathom) that drives well, is more comfortable, and can cover more of a buyers’ real or perceived needs will still sell 10x as many at $30-35k.
There are certainly people that would buy a $17k, super basic truck. I just don’t believe that it amounts to more than maybe 20-40k trucks a year, and that’s being very generous. I just don’t think that counts as “lots of demand”.
Consumers don’t buy them because the dealer would rather sell a kitted-out version that has a much higher margin, and thus the dealer doesn’t order base models.
If dealers had that much power over what people would buy, though, they would only stock the top trims of every car, or only carry luxury brands. But they can’t do that, since there’s not enough demand for those.
So they do have to stock stuff customers demand, and that tends to be volume-level trims that have all the “overcomplications” that people want and buy. I’m just not seeing some unaddressed, massive market where a dealer or OEM could sell hundreds of thousands of stripped down “back-to-basics” cars or trucks without selling them at a huge loss. Stripping that stuff out just doesn’t make it cheap enough for buyers to be ok with losing those features.
Because Chicken Tax
No chicken tax offroad?
25% chicken tax applies to any light trucks or vans made outside of the US — giving it an off-road designation wouldn’t matter unless they specifically de-quipped it to not be highway legal (airbags, crumple zones, highway rated tires, etc). An imported Champ would still get hit unless they can classify it as a passenger vehicle (maybe an SUV?) or they’re assembled in North America.
Comparison to the Polaris Ranger which is a tiny side by side and not street legal is odd to me. You could park one in the cargo bed of even the smallest Champ, that’s how much bigger it is.
I’ve been lusting for a Hilux Champ since I first read about them a few years ago. A regular Champ, not this heavily modified one with a new engine, drivetrain, thousands in accessories, etc… that would probably cost as much as a new Tacoma. From what I’ve seen, the Champ becomes a perfectly usable daily driver (whether it be diesel or gas, manual or automatic) with just the addition of some soundproofing to the back wall of the cab to quiet some of the noise. It can be had with AC and of course a head unit/stereo as simple or complex as you like can be installed. In Thailand, a very lightly modified Champ perfectly suitable for all but the longest interstate drives can cost well under US$20K.
I don’t have any data one way or the other, but I’m pretty sure the Champ was not engineered to meet US safety regs and it probably wouldn’t pass crash tests, rendering it out of consideration for on-road use. I honestly don’t think we’ll ever see it here. 🙁
Alternatively, Toyota’s been hinting at a cheaper truck for the US market, possibly called the Stout, for a few years now. It always seems ‘just around the corner’ but never actually shows up, likely due to fluctuating tarrifs and other trade/financial issues.
At this point, the FJ Cruiser (Jr.) would make me happy if it came to America, though I don’t think it’d be particularly cheap, though it is adorable.
I really wish Toyota would have brought over that Land Cruiser FJ would have been a nice replacement for my FJ which is really starting to get rusty and crusty.
Also for this Hilux Champ being a side-by-side/off road vehicle only seems it is going to be a hard sale.
My first car was a ’91 Toyota pickup. While mine had the high luxury of two sun visors, this otherwise describes it. I loved it. While I do now require air conditioning because I live in the desert, this would work well for me.
When David told me about this, I was honestly shocked. As a side-by-side, it won’t be as fun or as capable as pretty much anything else on the market. A Kei truck will be cheaper and still 4×4, while a Can-Am will outrun it on any terrain. Even the Roxor has a sort of niche appeal as an old Jeep-shaped side-by-side.
I mean, sure, that supposed tow rating is great, but who is towing 5k lb with their side-by-side? If you’re a farmer with a load that big, you’re probably just going to use the pickup truck you already own or buy an old Ford to slap Farm Use plates on.
I suspect that Toyota would really love to sell this as a road-legal vehicle, but the Chicken Tax and the constantly changing tariff game would probably erase much of the pricing appeal.
Legit question: how hard is a CKD (knock down) kit to put together for something like this
Very simple, in truth.
But that isn’t the problem any more. One of the current inhabitant of the White House’s tariffs (the section 232 one) tariffs autos and auto parts in a similar way so there’s not much benefit.
I think he hit it in the last sentence of the article: states that allow on road use of side-by-sides. They’re all over the place here in Oklahoma, and if they could do highway speeds and had AC, they’d probably be even more common.
Would selling it as a SxS avoid the dreaded Chicken Tax?
I am currently unsure about the specifics of how this would be classified at the time of importation.
While it is true that many states allow side-by-sides on the road, their road access still tends to be a bit limited. Unless this thing hits America for $20,000 or so, I don’t really see the point, either. A real side-by-side will do side-by-side stuff better and a pickup truck will do truck stuff better.
A Kei would be terrific, except that the cargo weight capacity with a 660cc engine would be half or less of what the Hilux Champ could handle. They are also not legal to register in all states.
Here in the Land of the Free, when we really want some genuine sort of fun, harmless freedom, it’s prohibited.
There are two reasons that you can’t buy a small/medium size regular cab pickup in the US.
1] They aren’t popular/profitable enough for the manufacturers to build and sell.
2] Some government boffins decided to scale required fuel economy to the vehicle’s track*wheelbase, aka footprint. That means a truly small truck would need to get huge MPG, which isn’t really possible with an ICE truck. Maybe the current government will drop those regulations, but that’s a big gamble.
If Toyota wants to bring it here as an “off-road only” vehicle, tariffs make that a no go vs. American made SxS competition.
2 is irrelevant as far as Hilux-class trucks internationally are concerned, the single cab/6′ box configuration was US/Canada only starting sometime in the ’90s.
They’re now made in single cab/7.5′ box, extended cab/6′ box and crew cab/5′ box only, all on the same wheelbase with the same footprint. If there was demand in America for longbed compact trucks they’d be sold here.
For #2 I thought they got rid of the CAFE fees?
Off road only makes this DOA.
FTFY. It’s not at all clear that “Americans” want anything of the sort. Slate will be an interesting bellwether, and not one I’m optimistic about.
Surprised that farmers didn’t clamor for this to be exempted; a cheap farm-useable pickup truck.
Needs to be a tax write off too.
No different than a tractor.
I HAVE BEEN WAITING