Toyota ratchets up Tundra evaluation program

TOYOTA Australia has this week announced the next stage of its Tundra development program that will see potential customers invited to be part of the so-called Tundra Insider Program from September 1.

Under the program, Toyota Australia will offer 300 potential customers the opportunity to lease a hybridised Tundra as part of a real-world evaluation and validation program.

Customers will be free to use their Tundra as they would in everyday use and will be required to provide feedback to Toyota on their experience with the vehicle through regular dealer check-ins.

Speaking to media gathered at the Toyota Showcase event in Melbourne this week, Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, Sean Hanley, said customers would play an important role in assessing the suitability of the Tundra for the Australian market.

“We know there is a growing demand in Australia for full-size pick-ups and we are keen to make Tundra available to all Australians, but we need to ensure it meets their needs and the demands of our diverse Australian environment,” he said.

“We have been testing and evaluating the re-engineered right-hand drive Tundra for the past 12 months and are confident it more than meets our exacting quality, durability and reliability standards and we are looking forward to receiving feedback from potential customers.”

The Toyota Tundra, which would compete with the likes of the Chevrolet Silverado, Ram 1500, and incoming Ford F-150, is being converted to right-hand drive locally by Toyota partner Walkinshaw Automotive Group.

Some 50 vehicles are currently undergoing the conversion process and are expected to be delivered to selected Tundra Insider Program participants by mid-December 2023. A further 250 units will be converted in due course.

Mr Hanley said that to ensure the most comprehensive evaluation program, effective feedback and data collection, the first 50 potential customers will be “carefully selected by 15 dealers across the country”.

These dealers are based in diverse locations from Perth to Port Headland (WA), Alice Springs and Darwin (NT), and “several sites from Adelaide to Cairns along the eastern seaboard”.

The dealers will use their own customer databases to contact potential applicants for the Tundra Insider Program to explain the program and ascertain their interest.

Each dealer will then submit a shortlist of potential applicants based on their meeting the selection criteria in respect of such things as location, occupation, and planned usage including towing, and driving in on- and off-road environments to Toyota Australia for final selection.

Once the first 50 applicants are confirmed, the Tundra Insider Program will be opened up to a broader range of dealers with the remaining 250 Tundras to be converted to right-hand drive over the next eight months and deliveries expected to be complete by the end of April 2024.

Tundra Insider Program customers will be offered the Tundra in Limited specification on a Toyota Finance Australia full-service lease, which includes all servicing, registration, and insurance for the life of the lease.

Australian specified Tundra Limited variants feature a petrol-electric 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 generating 326kW and 790Nm. The unit is coupled as standard to a 10-speed automatic transmission driving a part-time four-wheel drive system with dual-range transfer case.

Braked towing is rated at 4500kg.

Standard equipment includes synthetic leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats with driver’s side power adjustment, dual-zone climate control, and a 14.0-inch multimedia array with JBL premium audio.

First customer deliveries will commence in December.