Is The 2025 Toyota Corolla Pickup Truck Real?

Compared to its rivals, Toyota has a reputation of employing long-term commitment to its best-selling models. Its Land Cruiser 70, for example, is a rugged and off-road SUV first introduced in 1984 that's still in production today — though its V8-powered variant is being phased out. Then, there's the Toyota Corolla, a subcompact-turned-compact car that has been around since 1966, but remains the world's best-selling vehicle due to its low cost of ownership and reliability.

As Toyota's biggest market, the U.S. has consistently shown its penchant for the brand's sedans, with the Toyota Camry being the best-selling passenger car in the country for 22 consecutive years, followed by the Corolla as the intermittent second best-selling sedan. Yet while the midsize Camry is more popular in the U.S. due to its bigger power and space, the Corolla is more favored worldwide. The nameplate is so well-loved that even unfounded reports of a purported design upgrade have been gaining traction online. Reports in particular claim that the Japanese manufacturer is releasing a 2025 Toyota Corolla pickup truck.

To be fair, repurposing a sedan nameplate for a pickup truck is not something new. Ford did this recently with its Maverick nameplate by transforming its original compact sedan from 1970 into a compact pickup in 2021. The upgrade did wonders for Ford, as the model performed well in its home country, with the hybrid variant reportedly outselling Toyota Tacoma in early 2024, based on sales data presented by Good Car Bad Car. Thus, the idea of having a Corolla-branded pickup must have instantly excited Toyota fans. Unfortunately, the 2025 Toyota Corolla pickup truck is a hoax.

In early December 2024, random reports emerged on YouTube claiming that Toyota had introduced a compact truck with the familiar Corolla badge. The vehicle allegedly boasts the unique appeal of the iconic sedan, mixed with the rugged utility of the automaker's pickup trucks. Such video reports featured purported images of the unit's official design. The renders showed the alleged vehicle in green, blue, and red color options, complete with an aggressive fascia, gargantuan wheels, and bold Corolla branding at the front and back.

At first glance, the images may appear legit to the untrained eye, especially those unfamiliar with how advanced artificial intelligence (AI) has gotten in the past year. However, a closer look will give away spurious details; like the distorted Corolla letters and outrageously repetitive branding on the rear, inconsistent structural design between all the renders, subtle curvatures on the outlines of the vehicles, and the squeaky-clean-almost-robotic appearance of the units.

All of these point to the use of AI in making the purported first look at the non-existent 2025 Corolla pickup truck. Official product designs are professionally made, so there's no room for mistakes. Besides, a product launch of a famous brand won't go unnoticed by mainstream news sites. They would be the ones to first report on this, and not some random YouTube channels that use bot narrators to present their content.  

Nevertheless, although the reports and renders turned out to be bogus, there is word from reputable sources that Toyota is indeed working on a Corolla pickup truck but not for the 2025 cycle. In July 2023, Automotive News reported about the automaker's big expansion plans for its lineup, including one Corolla-branded truck that could give the Ford Maverick and the Hyundai Santa Cruz a run for their money. The outlet did not mention a potential release date then, but Car and Driver has since claimed that the Corolla pickup could debut as a 2027 model.