Toyota Tundra FINALLY confirmed for Australia

Toyota Australia will enter the booming full-size pick-up market with the Tundra to be right-hand-drive remanufactured from late 2023 to take on the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500.

The remanufacturing will be handled by Walkinshaw Automotive Group, which also has a hand in turning the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500 into right-hand-drive models through GMSV and American Special Vehicles respectively.

According to the Toyota press release Walkinshaw Automotive Group was selected as partner “for its extensive experience in this type of work”, with prototype testing earmarked to begin next month.

From there, 300 examples of the full-sized Tundra will be tested around Australia from the fourth quarter of 2023 for final testing, with deliveries to customers expected soon thereafter.

This means you should expect to see the Tundra pick-up share showroom space with the LandCruiser 300 Series, HiLux, Corolla, Camry and Prado from around early 2024.

Toyota calls this remanufacturing process “one of the most thorough development projects undertaken for a vehicle program of this type in Australia” and boasts that the Tundra will “set a new benchmark in Australia for the re-engineering of a full-sized pick-up truck from LHD to RHD”.

However, as the Tundra shares the same TNGA-F platform as the LC300, the conversion is expected to be more seamless than its peers that require all-new components to be designed, engineered and fabricated.

For example, the steering column and rack, accelerator, brake pedals and shift lever are common across both of Toyota’s full-sized pick-ups and off-road SUVs.

Powering the Australian-spec Tundra will be a 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 with hybrid, which in the US makes 286kW/650Nm.

By comparison, the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500 are both powered by petrol V8 engines, the former producing 313kW/624Nm from 6.2 litres and the latter 291kW/556Nm from 5.7 litres.

The Ford F-150 meanwhile, which launches mid-2023, will be fitted with a 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost petrol V6 with 298kW/678Nm at its disposal.

And for reference, the LandCruiser 300 Series makes 227kW/700Nm from its 3.3-litre turbo-diesel engine.

Toyota Australia vice-president of sales Sean Hanley said the Tundra will be as close to a factory-built right-hand-drive model as possible without actually being built in North America.

“This a dedicated re-engineering program, led by Toyota Australia and made possible by our global partners and is closely supported by our parent company and Toyota North America,” he said.

“It will utilise OE levels of design, development, testing and componentry rooted in Toyota's deep commitment to quality, durability and reliability.

“This project shows just how serious we are at Toyota about quality, and a RHD Tundra will not be available for sale in Australia, until we are totally satisfied.

“We are really excited to get such a significant project to this stage, and look forward to seeing development prototypes on our roads and test tracks in the weeks and months ahead.”