Toyota looking hard at compact pickup market

Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz have offered 50,000 units by way of May this year, according to figures compiled by Automotive News. Hyundai statements just about 15,000 of those people gross sales. Irrespective of the South Korean carmaker’s income staying down 16% through the finish of May perhaps in comparison to similar time period in 2021, the Santa Cruz set a new gross sales report in May well, and we know how well known the Maverick is. It is doable that each individual automaker with a platform that could be converted into a compact truck is on the lookout at the U.S. compact truck market now. Many thanks to Motor Craze, we know Toyota is just one of individuals automakers. During Toyota’s HQ Meeting at its Texas foundation, a few execs admitted to trying to keep a eager eye on the phase and brainstorming opportunity ways to enter.

Bob Carter, EVP for Toyota Motor North The united states, instructed MT, “Right now, we have the industry really properly covered with Tacoma, but that [a compact pickup] could be a risk and some thing we continue on to search at.” Cooper Ericksen, the group VP of merchandise preparing and method, built it crystal clear the vital is figuring out the shopper. Toyota has a overall body-on-body platform it could use for a pickup that leans toward hardy use, and unibody platforms for a metropolis-focused getaround with a bed — which 1 makes a lot more feeling? “[The] additional that Ford sells, frankly, the a lot more that Hyundai sells,” he mentioned, “the more we are going to be ready to get very good investigation on who these consumers are, why they want this motor vehicle, and we’ll see if that’s the place that we want to enter into.”

Underlining the stage, Jack Hollis, the carmaker’s SVP of automotive functions listed here informed AN that you can find no query of owning room in the lineup for a truck down below the Tacoma. The proportions of the current Tacoma add emphasis, AN pointing out that the modern-day mid-sizer is nine inches taller and a least of a few feet more time than a 2000 Tacoma. Hollis asked of that area, “The query is, how to fill it?”

And Volkswagen ought to choose be aware, simply because its current EV pickup announcement is generating waves at a lot more than its U.S. dealer system, Ericksen indicating, “it will be attention-grabbing to see Scout.”

If you live in a specific portion of the state, it is as if Toyota’s compact background in no way died. Southern California is swimming in fourth-gen vehicles, frequently with the painted badging on their tailgates erased to go away just “YO.” Illustrations of the two succeeding generations created by means of the 1990s — prior to the Tacoma graduated to a mid-sizer in 2005 — continue to want good revenue on the used market place even with much more than 200,000 miles. 

While Toyota is conversing in the conditional tenses that all automakers use prior to saying item, it appears like the enterprise has an thought of what it needs to do. Carter informed Motor Development, “Prospects are we may possibly have HQ Private 3 [in June] up coming 12 months, so we are going to have other matters to chat about.” The new Toyota Tacoma is predicted up coming yr, the new 4Runner the 12 months soon after that. In 2025, it can be attainable Toyota goes again to taking part in compact ball. 

Relevant online video: