Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) is counting on the fourth generation of its Tacoma truck, including a new “Trailhunter” model, to help maintain its leadership in the growing U.S. midsize pickup market.
The Tacoma has led the midsize pickup segment in sales for nearly 20 years, as competitors such as Ford, Jeep and Chevrolet have come, gone and returned to the segment. Midsize pickup trucks represented 4.4% of total U.S. vehicle sales in 2022, according to auto research firm Edmunds.
″[Tacoma] is the number-one selling vehicle in the segment … our intention is for that to remain,” one company official told the media. “We really believe we’ve got that in place with this new model.”
Toyota has commanded a roughly 40% share of the American midsize pickup truck segment since 2019 when Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and Jeep (NYSE:FCAU) reentered market, according to Edmunds. That’s down from a more than 60% market share a decade ago — despite Tacoma sales that surged roughly 150% since then — as rival automakers have released new trucks.
Trailing Toyota is General Motors (NYSE:GM), which sells the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon. Edmunds reports the Detroit automaker’s share of the U.S. midsize pickup segment last year was about 19%, followed by Stellantis’ Jeep Gladiator at 12.8% and the Nissan Frontier at 12.5%
TM shares in New York fell 51 cents to $141.97.
