Not to be outdone by its U.S. counterparts, Toyota is planning to launch diesel and E85-powered versions of its full-size Tundra pickup truck and Sequoia SUV. Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge have all announced that their light-duty full-size pickup trucks will be available with a diesel engine option in the near future, and Toyota will follow suit.
According to Edmunds, Toyota will launch a 4.5L clean diesel in its full-size Tundra pickup and Sequoia SUV by the 2010 model year. The Japanese automaker already offers a twin-turbo 4.5L diesel V8 in its Australian-spec Land Cruiser, so it’s possible that Toyota will convert that engine for use in its U.S.-bound vehicles.
In addition to the new 4.5L diesel V8, look for Toyota to also offer an E85 version of its current 4.7L V8.
Down the road a little further, Toyota is considering launching a 7.0L diesel powerplant for use in a commercial grade Tundra. If a heavy-duty version of the Tundra gets the green light, look for it and the 7.0L engine to make production in 2011 or 2012. However, if the slumping truck market continues to worsen, it’s possible that Toyota could cancel its heavy-duty Tundra program, along with the monstrous diesel engine.
But Toyota did show a Tundra Crew Max diesel dually concept at last years SEMA show, so a heavy-duty pickup is definitely on Toyota’s mind.
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