Why it’s likely Toyota will revive the ‘Stallion’ badge in SA
Toyota recently renewed its “Stallion” trademark in SA, while also filing a 2nd application to protect the nameplate. So, will the Hilux Champ adopt this badge when it hits Mzansi?
What will Toyota call the Hilux Champ when it inevitably launches in South Africa? Well, while there’s no official answer from the Japanese automaker’s local division, Cars.co.za can confirm that Toyota Motor Corporation recently renewed the “Stallion” trademark in Mzansi.
Of course, the Stallion nameplate has a deep local heritage, having been applied to various SA-built bakkie and panel-van derivatives of years gone by. In fact, the original application to trademark “Stallion” in South Africa dates all the way back to 1964, with a registration taking place the following year. The badge finally disappeared from the local market around 2005.
However, over the next couple of decades, the Aichi-based automaker conscientiously kept the Stallion mark protected in Mzansi, renewing it in 2014 and again in February 2024. In addition, our information shows that Toyota made a 2nd filing for this same trademark in November 2022 (likely with a view to amending its scope), with the status of the latest application currently listed as “accepted with conditions”.
As an aside, Toyota has another legacy badge it could potentially roll out on a local version of the Hilux Champ: the Stout. For the record, the Japanese giant has renewed the “Toyota Stout” trademark several times since its original registration in SA, with the most recent instance being in April 2021. Still, we believe the Stallion moniker is the more likely choice for revival on the sub-Hilux model in Mzansi.
Why wouldn’t Toyota SA Motors simply stick with the Hilux Champ nameplate used in Thailand? Well, while the Hilux prefix certainly holds huge brand cachet here in South Africa – the venerable bakkie remains the local market’s best-selling vehicle, after all – the “Champ” suffix is a little more problematic as its one many South Africans will associate with the Rosslyn-built Nissan 1400 bakkie that preceded the NP200. Indeed, Toyota has so far made no application to trademark the Hilux Champ badge locally.
So, when can we expect to see the new Stallion (if it indeed ends up wearing that badge here) in South Africa? Well, based on comments made by Toyota SA Motors executives in 2023 – as originally reported by the folks over at IOL Motoring – the sub-Hilux bakkie looks likely to launch locally only in 2025 or 2026.
Why the delay, considering the Hilux Champ has been on the market in Thailand – where it’s built at the automaker’s Samrong factory – since November 2023? Well, Toyota SA Motors is thought to be keen to produce the new bakkie (with underpinnings closely related to those of the Hilux currently manufactured locally) at its Prospecton plant in KwaZulu-Natal, and setting up/adapting a new production line is by no means a simple task. Where the looming next-generation Hilux fits into the local-production equation, of course, remains to be seen.
As a reminder, Toyota revealed the IMV 0 Concept in Thailand towards the end of 2022, before showing off a few interesting applications of the ladder-frame bakkie concept in August 2023. Further iterations were then unwrapped at the Japan Mobility Show 2023, before the production version was unveiled in November 2023.
In Thailand, the single-cab workhorse is available in both short- and long-wheelbase form, and is offered with a choice of 3 powerplants that will be familiar to Hilux buyers here in South Africa. There’s the naturally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol unit (102 kW and 183 Nm), the likewise atmospheric 2.7-litre petrol motor (122 kW and 245 Nm) and the 2.4-litre turbodiesel mill (110 kW and 400 Nm). Initially at least, all drive the rear axle only.
The longer version features a wheelbase of 3 085 mm, precisely the same distance between the axles of the current-gen Hilux. It measures 5 300 mm from nose to tail, which is 30 mm longer than a single-cab Hilux but 25 mm shorter than extended- and double-cab versions of Toyota’s big-selling bakkie. The Champ is 1 785 mm wide (a touch narrower than a standard Hilux) and stands 1 740 mm tall.
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