Toyota on the right track with Tundra

THE Tundra is a pick-up model Toyota developed specially for the North American market, which it also manufactures there. Unlike markets in other parts of the world, pick-up trucks in America are much larger.

The Hilux, popular in many markets, is therefore not so suited to the requirements of American customers and a larger model had to be developed. Because America has the world’s largest pick-up market in the world, it is worth the expenditure.

The Tundra, now in its third generation, is a huge truck that fits right into the American landscape. It is much larger than a Hilux with a wheelbase that is 1m longer. Since the first generation, over 2 million units have been sold and annual sales have never been less than 100,000 units.

However, because it has been sold almost entirely in North America since being introduced in 1999, it has remained as a lefthand drive (LHD) model, limiting export potential in some ways.

Of course, given its body and engine size, it might also not be wanted in other markets but Australia is a potential market and it is a RHD country.

The carmaker has therefore decided that it will also offer a Tundra with righthand drive (RHD), initially for the Australian market.

This will not be produced in America but re-engineered to RHD in Australia as the volume is probably not large enough to justify a full engineering programme.

A RHD variant is not merely a case of moving the driver’s seat and steering wheel to the right side, it still requires an engineering programme.

But it won’t be as extensive and costly as developing a brand new model as much of the basic architecture has been done but it is also not as simple as it may seem.

It won’t be the first time that Toyota has converted a LHD model into a RHD one as it also did the same with the Chevrolet Cavalier in the late 1990s. Back then, as a favour to General Motors, Toyota agreed to take the Cavalier and sell it in Japan as a Toyota Cavalier.

To do so meant re-engineering it to be RHD, a task which the engineers found challenging. Besides moving the steering wheel to the right side, there were also little details that needed to be altered to conform to Japanese regulations.

This time round, for the Tundra, Toyota is working Walkinshaw. This is expected to set a new benchmark in Australia for the re-engineering of a full-sized pick-up truck from LHD to RHD.

It will include the adoption of key components from Toyota’s comprehensive global parts catalogue, including the steering column and rack, accelerator, brake pedals and shift lever from the Land Cruiser 300 platform, with which the Tundra shares the same TNGA platform.

In keeping with electrification trends, the vehicle will be equipped with a new inline hybrid system that has a twin-turbo 3.5-litre petrol V6 engine. A hybrid system, which does not need external recharging of its battery pack, makes more sense for a truck that might be used in remote areas where recharging stations would not be readily available.

After significant development in-house, prototype testing on public roads will begin in this month. Starting from October next year, approximately 300 vehicles will be deployed all around Australia as part of the final stage of the re-engineering program.

These vehicles will not be for sale but will involve monitoring under real-world usage conditions.