It’s no secret that pickups remain a top choice for North American motorists; it’s also no secret that light-duty trucks have gotten bigger over the years, so much so that for many motorists today, they’re just TOO big.
Automakers have taken notice, of course, and reasonably identified a golden opportunity to add to their truck lineups – and to their offering of highly lucrative models. Ford this year introduced the Maverick small truck and unofficially re-launched that segment in the process.
Since the start of the year, Ford has sold some 35,000 units of the Maveirck. Hyundai, meanwhile, has sold roughly 15,000 of its own new small truck, the Santa Cruz. To give you an idea of what the budding new segment is all about, the Maverick is based on the platform of the Escape compact SUV, the Santa Cruz on the Tucson compact SUV.
Then of course there’s Honda, which has had the Ridgeline on offer for years now, although that model is a bit larger than the two newcomers, as it’s based on the Pilot midsize SUV.
Now, it appears Toyota is taking a very close look at producing its own compact pickup, according to Motor Trend. During a Toyota HQ Conference at the company’s North American head office in Texas, three Toyota executives confirmed there’s real thought being given to the segment, and how Toyota might make an entry into it.
Said Toyota North America VP Bob Carter, “Today, we have the market really well covered with Tacoma, but [a compact pickup] could be a possibility and something we continue to look at.”
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Cooper Ericksen, group VP of product planning and strategy, added that Toyota needs to clearly identify the potential customer for such a model. The automaker could use its body-on-frame architecture for a more-rugged pickup, or one of its unibody platforms for a more urban type of vehicle, only one with a bed. He said they will use Ford and Hyundai’s experiences with their models to make an analysis of potential buyers’ needs and wants.
Meanwhile, Jack Hollis, VP of automotive operations for Toyota in North America told Automotive News that it’s self-evident there’s room in the lineup for a truck below the Tacoma. As Automotive News pointed out, the current mid-size Tacoma is nine inches taller and a minimum of three feet longer than a 2000 version of the truck. In Hollis’ view, for Toyota "the question is, how to fill” the current space in the lineup.
We’ve had occasion to note and comment on the same growth phenomenon with the Maverick, which is essentially the same size as an old Ford Ranger. Yesterday’s compact pickups have become mid-size models today.
It’s known that Volkswagen is also studying the possibility of entering the small truck segment, and let’s not forget that the German auto giant plans to launch an electric pickup under the newly announced Scout banner.
Comments at a conference aside, Toyota has not actually confirmed it will go ahead with development of a compact truck, but it’s clear that automakers have stood up and taken notice of what’s happening at the bottom end of the pickup segment. There will assuredly be other models coming to the compact pickup segment, and one could well be a Toyota, the executives of which were surely not engaged in mere idle chitchat at their conference.