- Toyota has no plans for a compact truck anytime soon.
- ‘We can have something when the market is right,’ said the Toyota North America COO.
- The compact truck segment is still fairly small, with the Maverick being the top seller.
Toyota has no plans to launch a compact pickup truck to compete with the Ford Maverick anytime soon. Mark Templin, the automaker’s North American COO, said consumers “should be patient.”
According to Templin, speaking at the JD Power Auto Summit at this year’s Nga Show Automotive News“When the market is right, we can have something,” he added. He also noted that the entire compact segment is small, with sales in the 160,000-170,000 range.
Photo by: Toyota
This isn’t the first time an executive at Toyota, including Templin, has talked about a compact truck. In 2024, Toyota North America CEO Ted Ogawa said in an interview that the automaker was “studying this area,” but raised concerns about affordability. In May 2025, Templin said the company was “looking at” a compact truck.
The Maverick is the segment leader, with Ford selling 155,000 last year. Hyundai sells the Santa Cruz, but the automaker is ending production early due to lackluster sales. The Korean automaker plans to sell just over 25,000 pickups in 2025.
Ram has also indicated it’s interested in a small truck in the United States, but CEO Tim Conscious said the brand will focus on launching its midsize Dakota first before considering something really small.
Take Motor 1: The Ford Maverick may be a huge success, but that doesn’t mean there’s a mass market for compact trucks. Toyota is worried, especially with the Santa Cruz exiting the segment early. Developing a new vehicle for the U.S. market isn’t cheap, and there’s no clear indication that a small truck would be worth it for the Japanese automaker.
