On Wednesday night's Business Nation we aired an in-depth report looking at Toyota's efforts to push its redesigned full size Tundra pick-up in Middle America. As I put this report together over the last month with producer Diane Simon, a few things jumped out at me.
How successful will the Tundra be in middle America?
Relative to how Toyota has done in the past, I believe the Tundra will improve sales in the heartland. The combination of the grass roots marketing campaign and spending more ad dollars will help the Tundra. But I don't expect the Tundra to take major market share from Ford, Chevy, and Dodge in the Midwest. Having lived for years in Minnesota, Kansas, and Colorado I have seen first hand the loyalty of big 3 truck owners in the Midwest and I don't expect that loyalty to erode quickly. As one dealer in the Midwest told me, "The folks around here have no reason or cause to get out their big truck."
Read Article