Toyota has been back and forth on a diesel truck. The new Ram’s welcome reception may move things along.
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Toyota trucks may not have the same reputation for being work trucks that the Ford F-150, Fiat Chrysler’s Ram, and the Chevy Silverado do, but that doesn’t mean Toyota won’t offer a diesel in the US. Aside from being used to tow work trailers, a diesel offers benefits that Toyota may find attractive and customers may choose to buy.
It is debatable whether or not a Toyota diesel Tundra is a smart move for Toyota. Diesels are more often purchase by work-related users of pick-up trucks. However, diesels have a reputation for better fuel economy and for being better at towing. Those two factors could make Toyota’s move into diesel trucks more likely. Although Toyota is the “most fuel efficient full-line automaker” in America as it likes to say, counting on the Prius to counterbalance growing truck sales is not the only way to stay ahead of the pack. Toyota would love a simple way to add to its truck fleet’s mileage number and diesel seems to offer that.
Wards Auto seems to think a Cummins diesel is a done deal and Toyota will join Nissan in using that company as an engine supplier. Maybe so. One other recent development was Fiat Chrysler’s Ram truck division’s diesel release. Our own Patrick Rall was one of the first to report that the new Ram diesel was quickly, and completely, gobbled up by dealers eager to put the trucks on their showroom floors.
Toyota has for some time kept its truck sales under tight control. It has opted to target the homeowner and small business owner as its customer base. However, now that the auto-sales bubble has come and gone, sales are sales, and trucks are profitable. Don’t be surprised if you see a Toyota truck pull up to the oily pump with the kitty litter in front sometime soon.
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