Toyota president confirms Tundra diesel shelved

Toyota has apparently seen the light and given up the idea of competing head on with the Detroit 3 for big truck supremacy. Toyota America president Jim Lentz told Automotive News that his company no longer plans to challenge for the top spot in the segment. With the market shrinking fast, Toyota's share has been dropping even faster. Tundra sales were down 60.7 percent in September compared to only a 3.9 percent drop at Chevrolet. Ford, which is preparing to launch the F-150 in the coming weeks saw sales of the old model drop 41.6 percent while Dodge Ram sales were 30.6 percent off. Toyota has already decided to consolidate full size truck production from two factories to one and Lentz also confirmed reports that the diesel engine for the Tundra that was announced last January has been shelved. With volumes down so much, adding another engine to the mix at this point doesn't make sense for Toyota.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]