Talk of Tacoma powertrain upgrade from head guy at Toyota US...

Not in the USA we are still a Free country last time I checked

 

How much does that Sexy beast box truck cost?

 

No no no. Don't get demographic and marketshare confused. The Tundra plays in a totally different market and demographic. It also is just a pimple on the ass of Ford and GM. They are not going to gain or lose a ton of marketshare, no matter what they do.

The Tacoma is a different story. The Tacoma and the F150 are both tops in their respected class and ANY changes to those cash cows are put under the microscope. Same with the Honda CR-V. For example, the Ford F150 didn't change engines to eco boost across the board. They OFFERED it in addition to their other engines, even though they spent a shit ton of R&D money on it. The CR-V is the same. They change up the body a little bit, blah blah blah. No revolutionary changes. For these three vehicles in particular, you will always see evolutionary instead of revolutionary, unless and until they start to lose marketshare. The Tundra? It could double sales and the Ford and GM twins would only feel a small bump. So, if the Tundra is selling "X" amount a month as it is, why change it?

Now, COULD Toyota Tundra go after the F150? Of course they could, they have the tech, people and organization to do it, but what would it cost to get there? Pretty sure that's been analyzed to death and the answer is "too much."

Sometimes, you have to be strategic instead of tactical.

 

Dream on

 

No problem, Im living the Dream

 

Toyota needs to be more proactive. The main reason they own the midsize market share is that most of the other players left the game. Ford, Nissan and Jeep are bringing in new models to the market. They should be more like Ford is with the F-150. They are constantly updated the Truck. They are always ahead of the competition instead of chasing the competition. Toyota was aggressive with the Tacoma in 2005 and the Tundra in 2007 but since then they have relaxed too much and have fallen behind. They need to do more with their Trucks. The Seqouia is way past its due date as is the Tundra and the 4Runner. Lets hope that they don't let the Tacoma go a full 10 years before a redesign like they did with the 2nd generation.

 

Not really. Many keep thinking diesel lol

 

Toyota knows their niche in the truck market. Infrequent redesigns usually mean higher resale (because as soon as you change something, the previous model becomes worth less) and better reliability (problems get worked out).
For the better part of the decade Toyota was raking in profits partly because they had no competition and no need for expensive redesigns. That obviously has changed. It boggles my mind Toyota did so little with the gen 3 when surely they knew the segment was about to heat up.
While they still are #1 in the segment, their market share is dwindling and will only get worse when Nissan and Ford get back on the scene.
A mid-cycle powertrain change is unprecedented with the Tacoma. To me that shows that even the bigwigs at Toyota know the gen 3 changes weren't going to be enough.

 

All the fashionable press releases lately hint at "electrification". It's there to make them look good to the stock market today. At best by year 2030-2035 EV market share will be about 30%. What most of these releases mean is that their lineups will have an option for each model. You will be able to buy each model in the lineup as a gas power one or hybrid/electric.

All out ban on internal combustion engines in California or anywhere else in 10 years (with current EV market share at 1%) is borderline delusional thinking. It is coming, but it will take decades to have 100% EV share on new sales.

 

Many might wish for diesel but they know it won't happen. Anyone who thinks hybrid, and then full electric isn't the way all trucks regardless of brand is going needs to wake up. People have been talking about hybrid on this site for a long time...

 

http://topcarsmodels.com/2018-tesla-pickup-truck/

 

Who truly knows their strategy? Not me, but I know that if you don't need to update to maintain the marketshare you have, then put the money in your pocket instead of R&D.

Actually, their marketshare is dwindling a bit. At the beginning of 2017, their marketshare moved in the midsize market from 51% to 47%. But that's not the whole story... they sold more trucks! The midsize SEGMENT is growing, so sometimes you have to look at more than one number.

Also, we have no clue what the change will be or when it will happen. Who knows, Toyota might make a Gen 4 in a few years.

 

The European bans are on non hybrid gas and diesel powered vehicles , not a full conversion to EV vehicles

 

Aren't they doing test runs in Paris and London already? Banning diesels and certain (older) year vehicles?

Was watching a show with Paul Hollywood, and one of the guys in Paris said something about it...they are trying, but no one really listened.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08vdqhp

 

The German auto industry banked on the diesel engine as the way of the future, but that was many years ago. Things change.

German Carmakers Are In Serious Trouble. And It's Not Because Of Dieselgate
It is not a sudden pang of environmental responsibility that drives Germans away from their beloved diesel cars, it is the fear of being driven out of their cities.....
In a landmark case, last Friday, a Stuttgart court backed efforts of environmental group DUH to ban diesel cars from the hometown of Daimler and Porsche as early as January 2018.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fo...bout-those-european-ice-bans-not-exactly/amp/

 

Exactly, this is why press releases use the word "electrified" to make it sound better than it is. Toyota right now has a non truck fleet that's 30% electrified technically. It confuses people in thinking Full EV.

 

What does that have to do with people of this site

 

It didn't confuse me , having said that , even this thread is evidence that too many people think a hybrid vehicle = an EV

 

So Toyota exists in a vacuum?

The executives there follow such matters very closely, if they are worth their salt.

Diesel engines are not the way of the future anymore is my opinion, fwiw.