Toyota teases 4500kg-rated Tundra tow tug

Toyota Australia wants a bigger, more powerful ute than the HiLux. It's called the Toyota Tundra and it can tow up to 4580kg – over a tonne more than the LandCruiser.

Toyota says that’s something its Australian customers are now demanding, and the new 2021 Toyota Tundra could provide the solution.

The Toyota HiLux has been Australia’s top-selling new vehicle bar none for the past two years, but it could be joined in local showrooms for the first time by the bigger new Tundra within two years if a business case for right-hand drive production can be established.

"We recognise that even our customers are often requesting something above LandCruiser 200 Series, particularly around heavy towing, heavy van usage, horse floats, that sort of thing," said Rod Ferguson, Toyota Australia's product planning and development boss.

"We're really watching that segment with interest," he said of Australia’s growing full-size pick-up truck market, which is now dominated by RAM.

Almost 5000 locally converted RAM trucks have been sold here since 2016, including more than 2200 this year alone. The Melbourne factory that converts RAMs to RHD has been running 24 hours a day to keep up with demand since RAM Trucks Australia introduced the 1500 priced from around $80,000 last year.

Also read: Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series aimed at grey nomads

The same Walkinshaw facility ‘remanufactures’ the right-hand drive Chevrolet Silverado. New versions of both utes were released in the US last year and are expected on sale in Australia soon.

Such is demand for full-size utes Down Under that Nissan Australia is also understood to be investigating local conversion of the big Nissan Titan pick-up, which has just been facelifted in the US.

North America’s top-selling vehicle, the Ford F-Series, is also available in Australia via at least two major importers, and next year’s all-new replacement could be the first produced by Ford in both LHD and RHD.

The Tundra has also been available as a 'grey import' down under for a number of years.

Although Toyota has no firm plans to sell the Tundra officially in Australia, the growth of the market and an all-new model in 2021 could provide its best chance yet to make it happen.

"It's something we often and always keep an eye on and study. We'd love the opportunity to try and bring something here in that segment," said Ferguson.

"We can see in that market and understand that in that segment there's demand for full-size pick-ups."

Toyota USA announced in September that it will invest another $US391 million ($A573m) in its San Antonio production facility in Texas, which produces the Tundra and HiLux-sized Tacoma, prompting speculation it is planning the first global Tundra.

Also read: New RAM monster tow trucks coming to Oz

A Toyota spokesperson has since confirmed that "only left-hand drive is approved" at the factory, but that could change if there is sufficient sales potential from RHD markets including Australia.

"The most obvious choice in the Toyota global line-up is the Tundra from the US, but at the moment it's only made in left-hand drive, so that's one of the things we're up against when we try to look at our volume requirement in Australia," said Fergusson.

The Toyota Tundra is a competitor to the Ford F-150, Silverado 1500 and RAM 1500. Like the RAM 1500, the Tundra is powered by a 5.7-litre V8 (in this case outputting 284kW/583Nm), hooked up to a six-speed automatic transmission and produced in both rear-wheel drive and 4x4 form.

Available with up to six seats, the Tundra measures 5.8 metres long, can be had with a 144-litre (38 gallon) fuel tank and comes with an integrated trailer brake controller with trailer sway control and a host of other high-tech features.

Also read: Top-10 dual cab utes for towing

Fergusson made it clear that a US factory-built pick-up was Toyota Australia’s preferred option for the Tundra, but he warned that any business case would need to guarantee ongoing demand for Toyota’s biggest model.

"We know there's companies in Australia converting Tundra. The ideal condition would be to try and bring it out of the plant, but we'll continue to look at all options," said the Toyota product planning chief.

"Part of our business case planning is not just predicting how many people would buy it in the first year, but if we were to do something, what's the ongoing demand [and] setting up some sort of method to do it.

"If there's a way to offer that product to our customers in the market we'll study it," he stated.

Also read: Top-10 Tow Vehicles