Toyota adds cheaper Tundras

[BlackMax]

Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Print this Comment on this E-mail this

Toyota adds cheaper Tundras

Toyota Motor Corp. will add 13 more versions of its full-size Tundra pickup, including lower-priced models with fewer features, as Japan's largest automaker targets a bigger share of U.S. truck sales.

Changes for the 2008 model year include "Tundra Grade" DoubleCab and CrewMax trucks for $1,400 and $1,990 less than the cheapest 2007 versions, Toyota said Tuesday. They are aimed at buyers who need a basic work vehicle, said Irv Miller, vice president for U.S. communications.

"We want to have the opportunity to deepen our market, to attract more on the work side, the lower end, people that didn't need some of the equipment that had been standard," Miller said on a conference call.

Toyota is seeking a 60 percent boost in 2007 sales of full-size pickups, a segment dominated by Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

The new Tundra, which debuted in February, offers size and engine power that matches or beats U.S. rivals' for the first time. It also cost more.

Tundra sales are up 58 percent this year through September to a record 144,480. The 2008 trucks go on sale this month.

Toyota said the new Tundra will be available in 44 variations, an increase from the 31 initially offered on the redesigned 2007 model. The automaker pared the price on the Tundra Grade trucks by removing the towing package, styled steel wheels and chrome bumper as standard equipment, spokesman Bill Kwong said.

Offering the lower-cost models will help Toyota compete in the "$23,000 to $28,000 segment where 25 percent of the industry resides," said Miller, who is based at Toyota's U.S. sales headquarters in Torrance, Calif.

The Tundra is built in San Antonio and in Princeton, Ind.