Toyota Tundra MI Trucks Last in Line Behind Detroit Three; Lower in Market Share and Fleet Sales

June 9, 2011 - PRLog -- DETROIT, M.I. – Toyota Tundra MI trucks were built to play in the market with other full-sized trucks in the hopes that Toyota Motor Corp would be able to attract some of that market share to its side.
The Beginning
Originally, Toyota Motor Corp did not have a full-sized truck that could enter the industry, only two smaller trucks. When the Tundra was released in Feb. 2007, it was the most powerful truck to date with a 5.7L V8 engine that powered up to 381 horsepower.
Before Toyota Tundra MI trucks were released into the market, Don Esmond, senior vice president-automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. boasted to a crowd at the San Antonia plant that “these are the big, bad Texas trucks we’ve been waiting for.”
Coming in the first year, the Toyota Tundra just missed its goal of 200,000 units sold and hit 9.1 percent market share. Unfortunately, that is the highest market share Toyota Motor Corp has seen from the Tundra.
Decline in Market Share
•   2007—9.10 percent
•   2008—8.52 percent
•   2009—7.2 percent
•   2010—7.0 percent
As consumers turned their attention to more fuel-efficient cars and trucks, Toyota Motor Corp tried to follow that trend with its 2010 Tundra with a powerful 4.6L V8 with 310 horsepower and 327 lb-ft of torque. The problem with this change was the 2010 model was easily matched or surpassed by the EcoBoost Ford F150 MI trucks, which beat the 2010 Tundra’s mpg rating.
Fleet Sales
The Detroit Three—General Motors, Ford Motor Corp and Chrysler Group—dominate the large-pickup fleet sales part of the auto industry. The Tundra has tried to play with the bigger players but has not made much movement. The following is a comparison for 2009 fleet sales to offer a view into the competition Toyota Motor Corp is facing:
•   Total 2009 fleet sales: 1.14 million full-sized pickups registered in the U.S. with 16.6 percent fleets trucks
•   2009 Chevrolet Silverados registered for fleet totaled 324,977 with 19 percent of the total.
•   In comparison, 2009 Toyota Tundras registered for fleet totaled 78,298 with 3.8 percent of the total.
All in all it is hard for Toyota Tundra MI trucks to make a big headway into the industry when most consumers are loyal to one of the Detroit Three. As IHS Automotive analyst Rebecca Lindland pointed out in a press release, “It’s sort of the last great bastion of brand loyalty. You’re a Ford-truck family or a Chevy-truck family or a Dodge-truck family.”
Last year, MI Auto Times compared the Toyota Tundra against its competitors in its ‘May the Best Truck Win’ contest. The conclusion agreed with the same outcome as the current decline in market share as the Toyota Tundra could not compete with the Detroit Three trucks.
Toyota Motor Corp may not have much of the market share of the Toyota Tundra, but it seems Toyota does not seem ready to give up the segment to the highest market share performers just yet.
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[Source(s): Wards Auto, PickupTrucks.com]