√2023 Toyota Tundra Hybrid pick-up trademarked in Australia

Is the Toyota Tundra a step closer to Australia? The name of the Tundra pick-up and its powerful hybrid V6 have been trademarked locally.

Toyota has paved the way for its flagship Toyota Tundra pick-up from the US to be introduced in Australia – by applying for local trademarks.

While the trademark applications themselves do not amount to confirmation the 2023 Toyota Tundra will be sold in Australia, they are a crucial step in the process to introduce the iconic vehicle locally.

Toyota has successfully applied to Australian authorities to trademark the ‘Tundra’ and ‘iForce Max’ names.

The ‘iForce Max’ badge is the name of the Toyota Tundra’s V6 petrol hybrid system, which promises V8 performance but with V6 fuel economy.

Sales of US pick-ups in Australia continue to set records since the introduction of factory-backed, locally-remanufactured versions of Ram pick-ups since 2015 and Chevrolet pick-ups since 2018.

Spotting the surge in sales, US car giant Ford has announced it plans to add locally-remanufactured Ford F-150 pick-ups to Australian showrooms from the second half of next year.

More than 4000 Ram pick-ups and 2000 Chevrolet pick-ups were reported as sold in Australia last year – a combined increase of more than 50 per cent compared to the previous 12 months – despite the relatively small dealer network for both brands.

Ford is likely to supercharge the rollout of US pick-ups in Australia given it has 180 dealers nationally compared to 55 each for Ram Trucks Australia and Chevrolet (General Motors Specialty Vehicles).

Conspicuous by its absence is the Toyota Tundra, which trails the sales of the ‘Big Three’ pick-up brands in the US – but which could have a dominating presence in Australia given Toyota’s vast dealer network and 19-year winning streak (since 2003) as the top-selling automotive company locally.

Toyota Australia has a network of 294 dealers, so if the Tundra were to become available it would need to secure significant volume out of the US.

If the Toyota Tundra were to be introduced in Australia, it is unclear at this stage whether it would be built in right-hand drive in the US on the production line – or remanufactured in right-hand drive at another facility in the US or Australia.

Toyota Australia has previously indicated a factory-built right-hand-drive version of the Tundra is not planned. This would leave remanufacturing as the likely option.

The question is then whether Toyota completes the project in-house at its repurposed manufacturing facility in Altona on the outskirts of Melbourne – or would partner with a remanufacturing firm such as Walkinshaw (which does engineering and remanufacturing work for Ram Trucks and General Motors) or Premcar (which does engineering work for Nissan and Ford, and final assembly of the Nissan Navara Warrior locally).

Toyota Australia has previously said the Altona site that does the final assembly of Toyota HiLux Rogue and Toyota HiLux Rugged X is not set-up for a Tundra remanufacturing program.

The Ford F-150 will be remanufactured locally at a facility on the northern fringes of Melbourne by Thailand-based firm RMA, which has not embarked on a conversion program of this scale before.

In response to questions about the trademarked ‘Tundra’ and ‘iForce Max’ names in Australia, a statement from Toyota to Drive said: “Toyota Australia has been continually studying the introduction of a full size pick up, as we have continued to see this segment grow, with many brands introducing new product into this space.

“Like many companies, Toyota routinely trademarks names as normal business and brand practice.

“We have no announcements to make on the introduction of Tundra into Australia, except to say that it is a model that we will continue to study.”

In the US, the new-generation Toyota Tundra – which shares core parts of its architecture with the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series – is available with three engine outputs, depending on the model grade. All come with a 10-speed automatic transmission.

The Toyota Tundra iForce 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine starts with outputs of 260kW (348hp) @ 5200rpm and 549Nm (405lb-ft) @ 2000rpm, and climbs to 290kW (389hp) @ 5200rpm and 649Nm (479lb-ft) @ 2400rpm on dearer versions.

The flagship engine option is the Toyota Tundra iForce Max 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 hybrid which has outputs rated at 326kW (437hp) @ 5200rpm and 790Nm (583lb-ft) @ 2400rpm.

The Tundra’s hybrid electric motor is rated at 36kW and 250Nm, however these outputs are not automatically applied in full to the peak outputs of the petrol V6 because they deliver their boost earlier than the twin-turbo V6’s peak rev range.

Given Toyota Australia has only trademarked the ‘Tundra’ and ‘iForce Max’ names, it is believed the company is initially considering the top-end hybrid model for the local market.

The Toyota Tundra would be a welcome addition to Toyota Australia showrooms as it could be positioned between the Toyota HiLux and Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series.

The Toyota HiLux has been Australia’s top-selling vehicle for six years in a row, and the Toyota LandCruiser has dominated the heavy-duty four-wheel-drive wagon market for decades.

However, if a right-hand-drive Toyota Tundra is subject to a costly engineering and remanufacturing process, it would likely be priced closer to the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series.

Drive understands Toyota Australia is considering ways to introduce the Tundra locally given that, anecdotally at least, such a vehicle would appeal to top-end HiLux buyers looking for even more capability, and LandCruiser 300 Series buyers who would prefer a ute rather than a wagon.

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