Hiace Concept: Toyota reveals future evolution of their popular van

New Hiace Concept revealed at Tokyo auto show

When it comes to vans in the Philippines, there is no doubt that the Hiace is the king, and any news about the king is always something we pay attention to, rare as these instances may be. As you know, it takes a long time before Toyota comes up with a new generation of the Hiace.

At the Japan Mobility Show, however, Toyota is already looking towards the future of the Hiace with a new concept vehicle. Actually, they didn’t even bother calling it by a different codename: they just called it Hiace Concept.

Toyota had several examples on display, but what is clear is that the vehicle underwent a massive transformation in design. It still has the hood and raked windshield as the current model, but the front end has changed with a black fascia panel with what can only be described as a J-shaped DRL and TOYOTA in LED.

The profile is similar to Toyota’s previous van-like mobility concepts, and features a sliding door for easier ingress and egress for passengers. The interior is still very much a concept car with its futuristic leanings and details, but what is apparent is Toyota’s focus on optimizing the space for passengers, cargo, and other purposes. In fact, Toyota even showcased a Hiace Concept that appears to be more of a mobile clinic or triage unit.

As for powertrains, none were mentioned. We do expect it to come with options for hybrid drive, BEV drive (Toyota Auto Body did show a Hiace BEV at the 2023 JMS), or possibly even hydrogen fuel cell power units. As for diesel, we won’t know if that will still be in the future of the Hiace given emissions, but we shall see what will become of the Hiace as the concept evolves from here on out.

When it comes to timelines, it will be a while. The Hiace has a very long production cycle for Toyota, and given that the current generation was launched in 2019, the next generation will likely take several years of development before production and launch.