No 2016 diesel Tacoma coming - Toyota explains why
Fans of diesel trucks hoping that the 2016 Toyota Tacoma might finally be the year one comes are going to be disappointed yet again. This week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Toyota’s Chief engineer for the Tacoma and Tundra explained in plain English why the company does not plan to offer a Tacoma diesel.
No Diesel 2016 Tacoma
At NIAS Automobile’s Mark Nordeloos did the interview that made it all crystal clear. Interviewing Toyota’s Mike Sweers, he asked, “What is Toyota’s stance on diesel engines for the U.S. pickup truck market?” Rather than dodge the question or leave it vague so that Tacoma owners can continue to pine away for a diesel, Sweers said “The difficulty with the diesel is LEV III [emissions standards]. The difficulty is the cost-to-benefit relationship. Everybody loves diesel in trucks. The downside is the after-treatment systems can add $3,000 or more. It starts becoming cost prohibitive, especially in this segment, to pay a premium for both the engine and after-treatment system. That’s the struggle we have. We build a lot of diesel trucks, just not in this country. If I develop a diesel system for our country and I spend a huge amount of money to do that, I won’t see a return on the investment. That’s what we’ve struggled with.”
THINK ABOUT IT: How many more Tacomas could Toyota sell if it offered a diesel in the U.S.?
2016 Toyota Tacoma is All-New
Sweers and Nordeloos discussed the diesel topic a bit further, and we encourage our readers to click over and read this great interview. Other great questions include a contrast and comparison overview of the differences between the Tacoma and Hilux. Our favorite part of the interview is at the beginning where Sweers explains just how new this Tacoma is. Many other outlets incorrectly assume that because it looks similar to the outgoing 2015 it is not a full update. As Sweers puts it the only common part shared between the two generations are “Maybe a seatbelt bracket.”
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