Toyota plans volume production of a battery electric Hilux pickup truck variant by the end of 2025, the president of its Thailand unit has said.

According to Reuters, the announcement came just a few days after the Thai government said rival Isuzu Motors would manufacture its battery D-Max pickup in Thailand by 2025.

The news agency noted Thailand is a regional automaking hub with pickup trucks among the vehicles produced for domestic sale and export.

Speaking to Reuters at the Bangkok International Motor Show, Toyota Thailand's Noriaki Yamashita said the Hilux could be ready by the end of next year but did not specify where the vehicle would be produced.

In Thailand, Toyota expects to sell 250,000 vehicles this year, Yamashita told the news agency.

Toyota, the Thai market leader accounting for a third of sales, would deliver a dozen battery Hilux pickup trucks to the tourist beach town of Pattaya in eastern Thailand for trials as public transport next month, Yamashita told Reuters.