Toyota redesigns 2014 Tundra to appeal to truck buyers

CHICAGO (Reuters) - 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 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 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.

(Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Maureen Bavdek)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/toyota-redesigns-2014-tundra-appeal-truck-buyers-164622155--sector.html

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