WAIMEA, Hawaii — With the possible exception of the RAV4 compact crossover, no nameplate in Toyota‘s U.S. lineup is more important to the brand than the Tacoma midsize pickup — not just because of its sales, but also the way it continues to dominate the competition, albeit with less of a stranglehold than before.
With the redesigned 2024 Toyota Tacoma arriving at U.S. dealerships this year, the Japanese brand looks to brush back newly improved offerings from Detroit 3 rivals and reinforce its formerly vicelike hold on the important segment. It offers a new hybrid powertrain and more off-road trims, storage and technology.
The Tacoma’s segment share in the U.S. peaked in 2013 at a massive 65.1 percent as other automakers exited midsize pickups in favor of more profitable full-size pickups. However, their return a few years later began to bite into Toyota’s dominance: By 2018, the Tacoma’s share of the segment had fallen to 46.9 percent, and in 2022, it dropped to 39 percent, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center.
When Steve Gates, president of the Toyota National Dealer Advisory Council, first saw the retooled Tacoma, he summed it up real quick: “This is even better than the Tundra,” he told Automotive News.
Gates said that despite the introduction of the redesigned Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, and with the Ford Ranger redesign on deck, “we will retain the sales crown. It won’t be easy, and I won’t be surprised if GM and Ford offer significant incentives, if necessary, but Tacoma owners will remain Tacoma owners.”
Gates said Toyota has earned its place in key truck segments, helping “us build our reputation for quality and reliability. Tacoma is No. 1 for a reason. It’s not price or technology. Simply, they have always been the best, and the new Tacoma is even better.”
Toyota unwrapped the latest Tacoma for the media here late Thursday.
“Our dealers have been very involved” in the development of the redesigned Tacoma, said Dave Christ, who heads the Toyota Division of Toyota Motor North America. “We included them in the process of developing and engineering the truck, and we think we hit on all of the asks for the segment.”
Christ said he anticipates a huge reception for the latest Tacoma, especially given the brand’s experience launching the redesigned Tundra two years ago.
“It’s pretty powerful. The dealers are fired up. When you look at the old-generation Tundra versus the new one, it was an enormous leap forward, and it’s going to be the same feeling for the dealers with the Tacoma,” Christ said. “The [current] Tacoma has aged well, it’s still selling very well, but this new one is just badass.”
Danny Wilson, immediate past president of the Toyota dealer council and a current member of the council’s product committee, said the Tacoma remains a foundation stone for the brand.
“On the West Coast, especially, it’s iconic. There are very few Toyota people who don’t have either a Tacoma or a Camry story to tell,” said Wilson, dealer principal at Wilson Toyota of Ames in Iowa. The Tacoma, he says, “has become a staple for all of us, too. When you own that much of a market, it becomes a drawing point for the brand across the board.”
As the third of four body-on-frame U.S. vehicles to move onto the Japanese automaker’s new F1 platform, the retooled Tacoma represents an opportunity for Toyota to scale both the advancements and the lessons learned from the launches of the redesigned Tundra full-size pickup and Sequoia large SUV. The redesigned 4Runner midsize SUV will complete the circuit for what Toyota calls its Four Brothers next year.
As with the Tundra and Sequoia, the biggest change in the redesign is a downsizing of the Tacoma’s powertrain and improvements to the suspension.
There are eight trim levels across the lineup, starting with the base SR, SR5 and Limited trims. There are four TRD trims — PreRunner, Sport, Off-Road and Pro — each configured with a different primary use case in mind, while a new Trailhunter trim offers an off-roading rig that’s factory-equipped with traditional aftermarket accessories from ARB, Old Man Emu and Rigid, Toyota says.
All Tacomas will come standard with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, the latest version of the automaker’s suite of driver-assistance and safety technology, including dynamic cruise control, lane-departure and lane-tracing assistance, and proactive driving assist, which helps keep the vehicle in control under certain conditions.
Pricing and fuel economy ratings will be revealed before the nonhybrid versions of the redesigned Tacoma go on sale late this year, Toyota said. Hybrid versions are expected to begin shipping to dealerships early in 2024.
