The Toyota Hilux adds another accolade to its name as it clinched the 2022 International Pick-up of the Year award (IPUA). The Japanese pickup truck bested other finalists such as the Isuzu D-Max, Jeep Gladiator, and SsangYong Musso.
The Toyota Hilux wins 2022 International Pick-up of the Year
The award was given to Toyota at this year’s Solutrans trade show in Lyon, France. The IPUA is organized by the Europe-based International Van of the Year (IVOTY), which was established in 1992. It is composed of jury members that include several journalists.
The IPUA started in 2009, and it is held every other year with the goal of awarding the most efficient 1-tonne pickup truck.
“Every other year since 2009, the International Pick-up Award (IPUA) is presented to the most efficient 1-tonne pick-up truck in business today. As a multi-functional vehicle produced and sold globally, both the product and marketplace continues to evolve with many brands setting high standards in performance, safety, driver and passenger comfort,” said IVOTY chairman Jarlath Sweeney.
The pickup trucks were tested by IVOTY’s jury members, which was held in Croatia in early October. The vehicle testing involved assessing the trucks through the following criteria: functionality, efficiency, and performance.
2022 International Pick-up of the Year top three trucks (L to R: Isuzu D-Max, Toyota Hilux, Jeep Gladiator)
The Toyota Hilux got the most votes from the jury to secure the 2022 IPUA. Toyota shared the evaluation process was a close battle with the Isuzu D-Max, which finished second. The Jeep Gladiator, on the other hand, settled for third.
“With more than 50 years heritage, the Hilux has always stood for outstanding Quality, Durability and Reliability (QDR) as well as very capable off-road performance. So this award is for us a recognition of all the inherent qualities of Hilux, with even more capabilities. And we would like to thank all the jury members for their recognition,” said Toyota Europe Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Customer Experience Didier Gambart.
The Toyota Hilux
The previous winners of the IPUA include the Ford Ranger (2020), Volkswagen Amarok (2018), and Nissan Navara (2016).
The Toyota Hilux is one of the popular vehicles in the Philippines. Last year, this pickup truck is the second best-selling vehicle with more than 10,600 units sold. For this year, the Hilux is among the top-selling Toyotas in the Philippines with 13,300 units sold as of September. It sits behind the car brand’s most popular vehicle, which is the Vios.
See the full specs, variants, and pricing of all the pickup trucks available in the local market in Philkotse.