Last year, Toyota ranked as the world’s top-selling automaker with more than 11 million vehicles sold. Three of the eight best-selling models worldwide were Toyotas, including the Hilux pickup, which accounted for more than half a million units sold. The model was displaced by the Tacoma in the United States in 1995, but buyers in Mexico, Japan, and Africa can get one of Toyota’s legendary Hilux trucks with a diesel engine. African customers can also get a Land Cruiser Series 70 with a diesel powerplant, and Australian Toyota buyers have their choice of three diesel-powered SUVs: the Land Cruiser 300, the Prado, or the Fortuner.
American buyers aren’t just shut out of driving a Hilux. A statement on Toyota’s website notes, “Toyota has no plans to introduce a diesel-powered vehicle in the United States in the near future,” and cites emissions laws before adding the qualifier, “We are, however, aware of consumer interest in a diesel-powered vehicle and will continue to evaluate this option.”
