There are teasers for future vehicles that share some meaningful information — and then others that say nothing at all.
This latest hint from Toyota, on the face of it, is beyond cryptic, amounting to a total of six words: “Something new is on the horizon.” That’s both the headline and the text, differentiated only by capital letters.
A Picture Worth 6 Words
Thankfully, there’s a photo attached, and there are some clues to suggest this vehicle is the compact pickup truck that Toyota has talked about — smaller than the popular Tacoma and intended to compete with Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Fe.
It’s a straight-on shot from the rear, and the haunches are quite a bit wider than the greenhouse, suggesting a pickup truck bed with two horizontal LED light bars sweeping completely around what would be the upper edge of the tailgate.
Seating For Five?
The image also offers a few other hints. Note the roof rails on both the passenger and driver side of the vehicle, as well as what appears to be a small-ish head restraint for a middle occupant in the second row, consistent with pickup-truck packaging.
The greenhouse looks too small for this to be a derivative of the Land Cruiser or 4Runner, and a variant of the Tacoma seems unlikely because the current-generation truck has been on sale for just a few years.
No Fender Flares?
Toyota also offered this reel above showing the same rear view, without fender flares. The license plate is more visible in the video, and that middle head restraint is lowered, so you look straight through the windshield to see the glowing horizon.
Now the trick is connecting the dots between this teaser image and our previous stories about a possible compact pickup truck from Toyota. Is it all-electric, hybrid only, perhaps a plug-in hybrid? Maybe all of the above.
Could It Be Called ‘Stout?’
Note that our most recent story, in September, suggested Toyota might revive the “Stout” nameplate, and this new truck is likely to be built on Toyota’s TNGA unibody platform, similar to what underpins the RAV4 or Camry, rather than the body-on-frame setup used for the Tacoma.
That makes sense, given the lighter duty cycle of such a vehicle, and both Maverick and Santa Cruz are unibody vehicles as well.
Another story we posted last May said Bloomberg received confirmation from multiple American Toyota executives that the brand is trying to get a new small pickup to market.
Tacoma Success Might Spill Over
With the Tacoma absolutely crushing its rivals in the midsize pickup sector, it makes sense that Toyota thinks it can replicate that success with a smaller vehicle.
How is demand for smaller trucks? Ford has strung together several solid years for the Maverick, which sold 155,051 units in 2025, up 18.2 percent over 2024. The Hyundai Santa Cruz, however, has struggled, with 2025 sales falling 20 percent to 25,499 units. Toyota is likely confident its Tacoma popularity bodes well for a smaller truck.
Source: Toyota
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