Toyota Tundra V8 won’t be coming to Australia anytime soon

The market and demand for pickup trucks or utes are without a doubt expanding. However, since Toyota would only manage to trade around 5,000 to 10,000 Tundra pickup trucks annually in Australia, the Japanese automaker isn't yet considering to invest in a production line that can build right-hand-drive Tundra pickup trucks. Toyota produces the Tundra V8s in the US and sells around 115,000 to 119,000 units annually. This allows the automaker to financially aid the production of left-hand-drive models of the Tundra pickup truck in the US.

Similar to the Toyota Supra/BMW Z4 and the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ, a joint venture could be an easy fix for the issue, however, Toyota doesn't yet believe in its showroom-ready vehicles to be touched by other automotive companies. There are a few examples that are converted to right-hand-drive models by third-party companies. The list includes the Ram 1500 and the Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks that are converted by Walkinshaw Automotive Group. “We certainly don’t have any plans for that right now. If we went down that path we would certainly have to get (Toyota Japan) endorsement (but) we haven’t gone down that path and have no plans to," said Toyota's vice president, sales and marketing, Sean Hanley when questioned on the chances of a local left to right-hand drive conversion.

So, is the arrival of the Tundra pickup completely ruled out? Well, at least not by the words of Toyota, as the Japanese automaker isn't ruling out the possibilities of the Tundra arriving down under just yet. However, considering the low business opportunity in Australia, Toyota is probably playing it safe for now. “We are on record as saying we study that market (but) it’s an ongoing study. Right now we don’t have any plans to bring that vehicle to market, but we certainly continue to study it and study other opportunities,” said Mr. Hanley.

If we compare the sales of the Toyota Tundra with its American rivals, the Ford F-150, Ram 1500, and the Chevrolet Silverado, the Tundra finds much fewer homes every year. In comparison, the Ford F-Series accounts for around 900,000 annual sales, while Ram manages to trade 500,000 pick-ups annually. At last, the Chevrolet and GMC brand pickup trucks manage to find 585,000 and 220,000 new homes annually. 

Also read: 2020 Toyota Yaris GR4 teased, will arrive with an all-wheel-drive