Toyota to build hydrogen Hilux in Thailand from late 2027

Toyota Motor plans to start production of a hydrogen fuel cell Hilux pickup in Thailand in December 2027, with an annual capacity of 3,000 vehicles and initial output earmarked entirely for export. Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI) has approved investment promotion for the Bt1.49bn ($44.3m) project at Toyota Motor Thailand's Ban Pho plant in Chachoengsao province.

The project converts Toyota's existing Hilux production line at Ban Pho and adds assembly facilities for hydrogen tanks, fuel cells, battery packs, electric motors and energy control units. Hydrogen refuelling stations will be installed at the factory itself to support production and testing.

Where will the trucks go?

The line will build the New Hilux FCEV (fuel cell electric vehicle). Initial shipments head to Europe, Australia and New Zealand — not the Thai market, at least at launch. That detail matters for Thai suppliers angling for local volume: the domestic hydrogen pickup buyer does not yet exist at scale, so Toyota is anchoring the program on export demand.

For the local supply base, the more material number is roughly Bt640m of domestic raw materials and components the project is projected to use annually. The covered categories are air-conditioning and cooling systems, seats, wheels and tyres, wiring harnesses and interior parts — largely carry-over content from the conventional Hilux, not hydrogen-specific components, which Toyota will assemble in-house.

Toyota also plans to transfer technology and share knowledge with domestic parts suppliers across production, quality control, safety, environmental management and human-resources management. Treat that as an announced intention rather than a contracted obligation; the verification will come in supplier award announcements over the next two years.

What does the BOI approval change?

The BOI, in a translated statement, said the investment backs Thailand's strategy of developing a "world-class automotive manufacturing base across all technologies" — internal combustion, mild hybrid, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery electric and fuel cell vehicles.

BOI secretary-general Narut Teodsathirasak said: "This investment not only enhances our capabilities in hydrogen technology but also creates opportunities for human resource development, technology transfer, and the development of Thai parts manufacturers into the future automotive supply chain."

The approval fits a broader pattern. As of September 2026, the BOI had approved 203 EV-related investment promotion projects in Thailand with total investment exceeding Bt141bn, spanning vehicle production, batteries, components and related infrastructure. The Toyota project is small in baht terms within that tally, but it is the one that puts FCEV assembly on Thai soil.

The base Toyota is building on

Toyota's Thai operations span 64 years, with more than Bt200bn invested in the country over that period. It runs three plants — Samrong, Gateway and Ban Pho — with combined capacity of more than 770,000 vehicles a year, and employs more than 13,000 people.

Ban Pho is an established Hilux plant, so the conversion is a line change within existing walls rather than new construction. That keeps capital intensity low relative to a greenfield FCEV site and shortens the lead time to the December 2027 start.

What to watch next

Watch three markers. First, confirmation of the production start in December 2027 and whether the 3,000-unit annual capacity holds or gets revised as European, Australian and New Zealand demand for hydrogen pickups firms up. Second, supplier announcements: which Thai tier-one and tier-two firms win content under the projected Bt640m annual domestic procurement, and whether any hydrogen-specific parts localize beyond Toyota's in-house assembly. Third, refuelling infrastructure — the on-site stations serve production and testing, and any Thai-market sales would depend on a public hydrogen network that does not yet exist.