The big pickup comeback

After a turbulent couple of years, the UK pickup market is finally showing clear signs of recovery. Demand is rising, order books are filling again, and manufacturers are re-investing in a segment that had briefly stalled following HMRC’s decision to classify pickups as cars rather than vans for benefit in kind purposes (April 2025). That decision removed the financial benefit of leasing a pickup where BiK can easily run into several thousand pounds a year.

But for SMEs and trades – the core of the pickup market - BiK rules were never entirely the selling point. This group was always more concerned with things like being able to reclaim VAT, and it chooses pickups for functional rather than financial reasons.

With the rules now settled, the market is bouncing back and businesses that delayed replacement are finally moving ahead.

New Toyota Hilux

And into this newly stabilised landscape comes the all-new Toyota Hilux, a model with a reputation that barely needs introduction.

The ninth-generation Hilux arrives with bold new styling, a fully digital interior and a choice of two powertrains: a Diesel 48V mild hybrid and, for the first time, a fully electric Hilux BEV.

The BEV is particularly significant because it qualifies for the £5,000 plug-in van grant, immediately improving affordability for business users. Prices start at £42,845 for the Diesel 48V and £57,845 for the BEV before grant support, with customer deliveries beginning in mid-June for the electric model and July for the diesel.

Toyota has simplified the range to a single Double Cab body style, with a five-seat interior and a two-seat conversion option coming later in the year. Equipment levels are generous across the board.

Diesel models span Active, Icon, Invincible and Invincible X grades, each adding more comfort, technology and off-road capability. The BEV launches with Icon and Invincible grades, both equipped with Multi-Terrain Select, Downhill Assist Control, and the kind of rugged engineering Hilux buyers expect.

For fleets looking to electrify without sacrificing durability, the BEV Hilux arrives at exactly the right moment. And it has, additionally, the benefit of ultra-low company car tax. For a 20% marginal rate payer, that’s just £459 this financial year.

We have leasing offers on both the Diesel and Electric Toyota Hilux pickups.

Isuzu D-Max

The latest Isuzu D-Max is another model that couldn’t be better timed to benefit from the market’s renewed confidence.

Long regarded as one of the most dependable workhorses in the segment, the D-Max continues to offer strong payload capability, robust towing performance, and a wide range of trim levels that appeal to both trades and lifestyle buyers.

With taxation clarity restored, the D-Max’s reputation for reliability and low running costs is once again translating into strong demand from SMEs and rural businesses. Isuzu’s focus on safety, durability, and commercial practicality positions the D-Max as a natural beneficiary of the pickup market’s rebound. Available as both diesel and electric, you can find our D-Max leasing deals here.

New BYD SHARK pickup

If you thought BYD just did cars, then it’s time to readjust that perspective. Because BYD is entering the pickup world, too, with its new SHARK model that debuted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (09-12 July, 2026).

The double-cab SHARK offers utility users a plug-in Super Hybrid drivetrain with some 55 miles of electric only capability. It offers users the ability to travel zero emission locally but longer distances when needed. The double cab also features Vehicle-to-Load, which means a range of devices can be powered – for work and play – from any of two onboard power sockets.

The US value pickup - the Slate

And while the UK market is rediscovering its appetite for traditional pickups, there’s also movement in America, a country that loves its gas-guzzling pickups. Except the Slate is not that.

New US brand Slate focuses on advanced EV platforms, modular design, and no-frills positioning – reflected in its $25k price tag, which is even cheaper than it sounds when converted to our money. No wonder it has the tagline ‘The most affordable truck in America’. It will be interesting to see how Stateside buyers take to this bold newcomer.

Back to the UK, though, and with the taxation situation clarified and a new wave of models arriving, the pickup market is entering a fresh period of growth.

The Hilux, D-Max, new Shark and not to mention stalwarts like the Ford Ranger are perfectly placed to capitalise on that momentum, offering business users the capability they require. After a brief period of uncertainty, the segment is once again proving why pickups remain such an important part of the UK’s commercial vehicle ecosystem.