Toyota unveils 2014 Tundra at Chicago Auto Show
CHICAGO -- Toyota continues efforts to become a major player in the full-size pickup truck market with the world premiere here at the Chicago Auto Show of a redesigned Tundra for the 2014 model year.
The truck will go on sale in September. Pricing has not been announced.
The Japanese automaker said this is the first big change to the current-generation truck that debuted at the 2006 Chicago Auto Show for sale as a 2007 model.
The engines are holdovers and the underpinnings remain the same â€" the makeover is cosmetic inside and out and there is a new leather-swaddled top trim level added to the lineup.
The 2014 Tundra has a bolder look with a bigger grille, taking a page from the Ram playbook.
Inside, Toyota tried to create different themed interiors for each of the five trim levels, taking a page from Ford.
Ergonomics were improved, including large knobs to control the audio and climate controls that are almost three inches closer to the driver.
The powertrain choices remain the 4-liter V6 and a 4.6 and 5.7-liter V8.
The Japanese automaker seeks to drive home the message this is an American designed, engineered and built truck with the addition of the new 1794 Edition as a tribute to the ranch, founded in 1794, upon which the Tundra plant is located in San Antonio, Texas.
Toyota continues to work to try and chip away at the stranglehold that Detroit’s three automakers historically have had on the full-size pickup segment.
In 2012, Ford sold 645,316 F-Series, followed by 418,312 sales of the Chevrolet Silverado; 293,363 Ram 1500s and 157,185 GMC Sierras. Toyota sold 101,621 Tundras.
The competition arguably has never been fiercer.
The 2014 Tundra goes up against all-new trucks from General Motors this spring. The Ram is new and still in its ramp-up phase. Ford is expected to introduce new trucks next year, based on the Atlas concept shown at the 2013 North American International Auto Show, with new EcoBoost turbocharged engines under the hood.
When Toyota decided to compete in the full-size pickup market there was an expectation the Japanese would make in-roads in trucks as they had in cars and utility vehicles.
But the first-generation 2000 Tundra was smaller than its competitors and Detroit held its ground. Toyota remedied things with the larger, second-generation Tundra for the 2007b model year and the decision to make it in Texas, the heart of truck country.
But pickups are among the most profitable vehicles on the market and their buyers are fiercely loyal and most have continued to buy American.
Tundra market share peaked in July 2007 at 13% of the segment but hasn’t hit double digits since 2009 said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst with Edmunds.com.
Engineering of the current Tundra was done in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the design work of the redesign came out of Ann Arbor and the Calty Design Research centers in Newport Beach, Calif. The truck continues to be built in San Antonio.
‘Toyota prides itself on listening to its customers and the development of the 2014 American-born Tundra is a perfect example,†said Bill Fay, general manager of the Toyota division in the U.S., of the truck that comes in three cab sizes.
The Toyota exhibit at the Chicago show, with space for about 50 vehicles, also aims to showcase the company’s heritage in the U.S., said Brent Marrero, Toyota’s auto show planner.
“We know that ‘made in America’ is especially important to people living in the Midwest and we feel that we have a great story to tell with 70% of our vehicles sold in the U.S. being built here as well,†Marrero said.
Last year full-size pickups were less than 12% of the total market but a rebounding economy and improved housing starts are expected to boost truck sales this year.
Contact Alisa Priddle: 313-222-5394 or apriddle@freepress.com
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar