Toyota Tundra Sales Tanking, HD Tundra In Trouble?
Jason Lancaster | Jul 01, 2008 | Comments 4
While it’s not entirely unexpected, sales of the Toyota Tundra plummeted nearly 53% in June 2008 compared to June 2007. Adjusted for selling days (only 24 in June 08′ compared to 27 in June 07′), that still works out to a 47% sales decline month-to-month. Year over year, however, Tundra sales have only dropped about 8%. This is due to the fact Toyota sold relatively few Tundras in the first quarter of 2007 – the new Tundra did not debut until late February of that year. Toyota then finished 2007 strong with Tundra sales totaling 196,555 trucks.
We have revised our 2008 Tundra sales projection, and now anticipate Toyota will sell approximately 150,000 Tundras in 2008. Considering the condition of the new vehicle marketplace and the prospect of competing against the new 2009 Ford F150 and 2009 Dodge Ram, it’s entirely possible our projection of 150k Tundras will be reduced further.
It’s important to remember that Toyota is not alone – every truck manufacturer is facing double-digit year over year sales declines in their truck lines. As of right now, Toyota Tundra year over year sales have declined less than any other half-ton truck (excepting the Honda Ridgeline, but that’s not really a truck). In other words, don’t let any Ford, Chevy, or Dodge owners tell you Toyota’s in trouble. If anything, the Dodge Ram is the most likely candidate to disappear. Rumors that Chrysler has exhausted their operating cash have some analysts convinced they’re likely to file bankruptcy.
What this means to you: If you’re in the market for a new truck, this is nothing but great news. Incentives are only going to increase from this point forward. If you’re looking to get rid of your truck, however, this news isn’t too good. As new vehicle incentives increase, used vehicle values drop. We’re also concerned that this weakness in Tundra sales will delay the development of the HD Tundra. Some analysts project that an HD Tundra with a 7.4L diesel will debut as soon as 2012, but we believe this projection is a bit optimistic. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if Toyota completely paused development of the HD version of the Tundra pending changes in the marketplace.
The 4.4L diesel Tundra (light duty), however, is still on track and should be available late next year as a 2010 model.
Tundra Sales Figures:
June 2007: 21,727 – June 2008: 10,238
Total sales thru June 2007: 82,840 – Total sales thru June 2008: 76,516
Filed Under: Auto News
The reason why all the truck sales are so slow is that EVERYBODY IS STILL SELLING THE SAME THING !
Contractors, weekend warriors, families and everything in between has been begging for a 4.? liter diesel truck with a real life cab for 4 people (not midgets) for years and all the truck makers keep pushing horsepower and speed. People need great (not good or ok) fuel economy and cabs that can stay in step with growing kids. If Tundra delivers a 4.? liter diesel in it’s crewmax, Ford , GM and Dodge will be one big step closer to going under.
THERE IS A VERY UNFAIR TRADE IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY. TOYOTA, PLEASE STOP RUINING THE NORTH AMERICAN ECONOMY. YOUR CARS ARE WAY OVER RATED
Dennis come on and get real. It isn’t Toyota’s fault your Big 3 made inferior products…. Now they are in trouble….
I think as of lately Ford has been making just as good a product as Toyota. Chrysler corp (including dodge and jeep) have made some good strides also.