The Toyota Tundra full-size pickup truck had its peak annual sales 15 years ago when the 2007 year-end tally was just under 197,000.
With increased competition, the truck’s selling success has never been anywhere close. Since 2018, sales of the Tundra have drastically dipped from 118,258 in 2018 to 81,959 in 2021. It was the poorest sales tally for the Tundra since 2009.
In 2020, the Tundra was sharply criticized, including by U.S. News & Report.
It wrote: “It’s been 13 years since this Toyota got a complete redesign. Most full-size rivals have more comfortable interiors, smoother rides, better composure, and higher-end cabins. Though the Tundra comes standard with a powerful V8 engine, it still can’t tow or haul as much as most other trucks in the class.”
A new generation debuted in 2022, but the data doesn’t show much hope for improved sales this year, either. And the manufacturer isn’t scheduled to make any major effort to improve the Tundra’s prominence in 2023.
With the current generation of the Tundra only age one, the only scheduled update for next year’s model is the optional SX Package. It will give the truck what’s being called “sophisticated darkness.”
The package includes:18-inch dark gray alloy wheels, black elements in the door handles and rear inboard bumper, deleted door badges and blackout treatment for the 4×4 badges on the tailgate and black interior accents replacing dark silver trim.
The SX Package for the Tundra is available in the SR5 trim with either the 4×2 or 4×4 models. The new option is available with the truck painted white, gray, silver or black.
Offered in seven different trims, the 2023 Tundra will include a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 with 389 horsepower or a 437-hp, 3.5-liter hybrid twin-turbo V6.
With its most powerful configuration, the Toyota Tundra has a 12,000-pound towing capacity.
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Article Last Updated: June 27, 2022.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
