Toyota Motor Corp unveiled a redesigned Tundra pickup truck on Thursday
with a back-up camera, easier-to-use controls and other features
designed to take advantage of the lucrative U.S. truck market's
anticipated growth.
Toyota
The redesigned 2014 Toyota Tundra is set to take advantage of the housing market turnaround.
Toyota last overhauled the Tundra in 2007 to crack a market for
full-work trucks dominated by General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and
Chrysler Group LLC. At the time, Toyota executives referred to the
Tundra as their most important product launch ever.
But the 2007 Tundra launch coincided with a slowdown in U.S. home
construction that hurt truck sales that year and forced the Japanese
automaker to pile on incentives to win over buyers.
This time, however, truck sales are on pace to outstrip the gains seen
by the overall U.S. auto industry. Analysts expect the trend to persist
this year as the housing market improves and automakers launch an array
of new models.
"Last time around their timing was off," TrueCar.com analyst Jesse
Toprak said, referring to Toyota. "This time, their timing is pretty
good in terms of the housing market correlation."
STIFF COMPETITION
The 2014 Tundra, on display at the Chicago Auto Show, which opens for
media previews on Thursday, faces stiff competition. Chrysler launched a
redesigned Ram 1500 last autumn, while GM will introduce redesigned
versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra this spring.
Next year, Ford will have an overhauled F-150 truck, while Nissan Motor
Co's (7201.T) U.S. arm will launch a redesigned Titan pickup truck.
Toyota also must appeal to today's consumers, who are less likely to be
so-called lifestyle buyers, or those who are enamored of the truck's
image but do not really need it for work, Toprak said.
Buyers are more interested in the truck's capability and power than with its plush interior and visual appeal.
"It doesn't matter in terms of the styling of the truck, most truck
buyers don't care about that stuff anyway," Toprak said. "What matters
is the value proposition. That's what Tundra's lacked so far."
The Tundra accounted for 6 percent of the full-size U.S. truck market
last year, while the F-Series made up 38.5 percent, according to auto
research firm Edmunds.com.
The Chevrolet Silverado held 25 percent of U.S. market share in 2012.
Ram took 17 percent last year, while the GMC Sierra was 9.4 percent,
according to the Edmunds.com data.
The 2014 Tundra is expected to arrive at dealerships in September. As
with the 2007 model, Toyota drew heavily on focus groups in its latest
overhaul.
"Tundra's new exterior design and all-new interior were inspired by
customer feedback requesting a more chiseled exterior and refined
interior," Bill Fay, head of U.S. sales for the Toyota brand, said.
Fay said at the show that he expects the U.S. industry's full-size
pickup truck segment to grow about 10 percent in the next two years,
hitting 1.8 million sales by 2015. He said the increased demand may
prompt some consumers to reconsider the brands, offering Toyota an
opportunity for growth.
Last year, U.S. industry sales of full-size trucks rose 9 percent to
almost 1.64 million vehicles. Toyota's Tundra sales last year rose 22.6
percent to 101,261 vehicles.
Toyota now offers Bluetooth wireless technology as a standard feature
to make hands-free phone calls on the 2014 Tundra. The audio, heating
and cooling controls are 2.6 inches closer to the driver to improve
ergonomics in the new truck, Toyota said.
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