A recent report from Automotive News states that the upcoming Toyota Tundra and the Tacoma will be built on a shared platform. The new platform is reportedly known as the “F1” codename inside the company.
This report is unconfirmed by Toyota.
The sources report that the platform development is nearing completion and it could underpin a new production truck for the 2021 model year. An educated guess would put the next-generation Tundra to receive the new chassis and a complete redesign. The Toyota Tundra has been largely unchanged in the United States since 2007, although it has received several body refreshes and technology updates over the years.
The competition is evolving at a quicker pace, and Toyota needs to make a big leap in the half-ton segment in order to remain competitive.
Toyota builds the Tacoma and the Tundra at the same facility near San Antonio, Texas – so a shared platform should streamline the production process further.
The engineering details of the new platform are still unknown. Toyota currently uses a shared TNGA platform for its passenger cars. How will a shared truck platform work? The midsize and half-ton trucks have vastly different capability and utility requirement. A modern half-ton truck towing capability standard is now over 12,000 lbs. The payload requirements continue to go up. A midsize truck standard is around 7,500 lbs of towing.
A midsize truck tends to be about six inches narrower than a full-size truck. Naturally, there are various frame and wheelbase lengths to consider as well.
What does this mean for the Toyota Sequoia or the Toyota 4Runner SUVs? These SUVs have not been redesigned in many years as well. The Sequoia is related to the Tundra, so this shared platform may extend to it. However, the future of the 4Runner redesign is less certain.
We do know that currently, Mike Sweers, is the chief engineer for four vehicles together: Toyota Tacoma, 4Runner, Tundra, and Sequoia. Mike has been spending a lot of time working in Japan over the last year. We cannot wait to see the fruits of this development. Although, we may have to wait until 2020 to actually see and learn about these new trucks.
You can watch our latest interview with Mike Sweers in the video below.
