Toyota is bringing its monster Tundra ute to Australia to compete in truck market

The world’s largest car manufacturer have confirmed plans to bring the enormous truck Down Under in response to the overwhelming popularity of the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 utes.

The Tundra dwarfs Toyota’s HiLux, Australia’s most popular car, in size, with the new ute measuring in at 5,933mm long and 2,037mm wide compared to the classic’s chassis at just 5,265mm long and 1,800mm wide.

Toyota’s monster would be its most expensive model on sale in Australia, with prices ranging from $80,000 all the way to $265,000.

It has 5,400kg of towing power with a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine.

Despite not being an eco-friendly vehicle, the Tundra does feature a hybrid powertrain, which combines the twin-turbo V6 with a motor-generator mounted between it and the transmission.

Toyota is rolling out a testing phase of 300 right-hand-drive Tundras, which it says are the real deal and ‘not prototypes’. The vehicles will arrive in Australia in 2023.

The manufacturer, however, said the truck likely won’t go on sale until 2024, given the huge logistical challenge of reconfiguring its fleet for Aussie roads.

‘This is the first time anywhere in the world that Toyota has undertaken a project like this, taking a car produced in one market, exporting it to a country that’s not Japan and having local engineers thoroughly redevelop it for the local needs of customers – this is not just moving the steering wheel, we’re substantially re-imagining Tundra for Australia,’ Toyota Australia’s vice president of sales and marketing Sean Hanley said.

‘We’re taking the steering column, the rack and the shift lever from the LandCruiser platform, for example. It’s a full-scale re-engineering project. It will be an even better Tundra.’

The Tundra will rival the Chevy 1500 and Ram 1500, which have seen extensive pre-orders for the popular American-style trucks.

‘We’ve been watching this market for about four years, it’s not new territory for us, it’s a matter of making it work, it’s got to be commercially viable for us, there’s got be demand, and clearly there is interest,’ Mr Hanley said.

‘There’s trades people, business fleets, agriculture, leisure; this has a big, broad use, a very diverse customer base. Construction business owners I know have said to me, ‘If you had a Tundra, we’d be there tomorrow.’

Ford are also expected to start rolling out its F-150 pickup from mid-2023 and beat Toyota to the market.

Meanwhile, Ram recently brought the world’s biggest ute to Australia after the TRX hit Aussie showrooms.

The Ram TRX, named after the Tyrannosaurus Rex, has made its debut Down Under, boasting a supercharged 6.2-litre Hemi V8, producing 523kW, 702 horsepower and 882Nm of torque.

Those figures see the TRX outperform every model in its class, even the new Ford Ranger Raptor – which Ram cheekily mock with an image of a T-Rex eating a Velociraptor in its interior.

The Ram TRX starts at an eyewatering $199,950 with additional on-road costs – more than double its rival Raptor.

The new model 1500 sees a wider chassis to fit its monstrous 325mm tyres, with a new bonnet scoop designed to increase airflow to the 6.2L supercharger.

A 12-inch touch screen provides passengers with a number of features including the 19-speaker Harman Kardon stereo – which Ram describe as the ‘finest and most powerful audio system available in a pick-up truck’.

The TRX also features launch control and eight different drive modes, can reach 100mk/h in 4.5 seconds and has a top speed of 190km/h – despite weighing more than three tonnes.

The huge price is the result of Ram having to convert the ute from left-hand drive to right-hand drive for its Australian customers.

The TRX sells for $113,500 in the United States, a discount of about $87,000.