The
American
pickup
truck
market
is
dominated
by
domestic
brands,
primarily
Ford,
Chevrolet,
GMC
and
Ram.
U.S.
brands
benefit
from
a
loyal
buyer
base,
and
a
25%
tax
on
imported
trucks.
But
the
Toyota
Tacoma
shows
how
a
foreign
automaker
can
find
and
control
a
niche
within
that
market.
The
top-selling
full-size
pickup
line
is
Ford’s
F-Series,
especially
the
F-150,
which
is
also
the
bestselling
vehicle
in
America,
according
to
Edmunds.
GM
and
Ram
pickups
trail
Ford,
which
also
has
the
top-selling
compact
pickup
truck
—
the
Maverick.
But
U.S.
automakers
have
wavered
in
their
commitment
to
smaller
pickups,
while
the
Japanese
automaker
Toyota
has
had
a
presence
in
the
segment
as
far
back
as
the
1970s.
Toyota
introduced
the
Tacoma
in
1995
as
a
successor
to
the
Toyota
Pickup,
famously
known
as
the
Hilux
elsewhere
in
the
world.
Meanwhile,
Ford
Motor
discontinued
the
Ranger
after
the
2011
model
year,
and
then
revived
it
in
2019.
GM
pulled
the
Chevrolet
Colorado
and
GMC
Canyon
off
the
market
in
2012,
before
reviving
both
in
2014.
In
2023,
Toyota
sold
over
237,000
Tacomas
in
the
U.S.,
far
outpacing
all
of
its
midsize
competitors
by
a
wide
margin.
The
next
best
seller
was
the
Chevrolet
Colorado,
which
sold
just
shy
of
72,000
units.
The
GMC
Canyon,
a
slightly
higher-end
version
of
the
same
truck,
adds
roughly
another
22,600
in
sales
for
the
U.S.
automaker.
Toyota’s
careful
attention
to
the
needs
of
Tacoma
owners
is
seen
as
part
of
the
reason
for
that
loyal
market
base
and
the
model’s
consistent
sales.
For
example,
about
40%
of
Tacoma
owners
take
their
trucks
off-road
at
least
once
a
month,
so
Toyota
offers
several
off-road
packages
for
the
truck.
What’s
more,
of
the
some
seven
models
in
the
midsize
segment,
Tacoma
is
the
only
one
that
comes
with
a
long
bed.
It
also
is
only
one
of
two
that
comes
in
a
two-door
version,
and
one
of
two
that
comes
with
manual
transmission.
Toyota’s
focus
on
quality,
durability
and
reliability,
or
QDR,
helped
as
well.
Tacomas
have
some
of
the
highest
residual
values
on
the
market.
But
industry
forecasters
say
the
number
of
models
in
the
segment
is
about
to
double
over
the
next
few
year,
to
a
total
of
around
14.
Historically,
the
pickups
have
about
a
20%
share
of
the
overall
vehicle
market
(double
checking
that’s
right?),
and
the
midsize
segment
is
just
a
fraction
of
that.
That
translates
into
a
lot
more
competition
for
the
same
customers
in
the
near
future.
Watch
the
video
to
learn
more
about
how
the
Tacoma
has
stayed
atop
the
midsize
truck
segment,
and
how
it
is
working
to
meet
the
challenge
of
an
expanding
market.
