Toyota pickup sales start year off with a whimper

CaptionClosePHOTOS: Best Trucks, SUVs & CUVs of 2016The Texas Auto Writers Association named these the best trucks, SUVs and CUVs (Crossover Utility Vehicles) at the 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo.PHOTOS: Best Trucks, SUVs & CUVs of 2016The Texas Auto Writers Association...

BUSINESS
01 February 2017 Wednesday 18:17

Toyota pickup sales start year off with a whimper

Caption

PHOTOS: Best Trucks, SUVs & CUVs of 2016

The Texas Auto Writers Association named these the best trucks, SUVs and CUVs (Crossover Utility Vehicles) at the 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo.

PHOTOS: Best Trucks, SUVs & CUVs of 2016

The Texas Auto Writers Association named these the best trucks, SUVs and CUVs (Crossover Utility Vehicles) at the 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo.

Truck of Texas: 2017 Ford Super Duty

SUV of Texas: 2017 Nissan Armada

Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV) of Texas: 2017 Volvo XC90

Truck Line of Texas: Ford Motor Co.

Heavy Duty Pickup Truck: 2017 Ford Super Duty

Best Commercial Vehicle: 2017 Nissan XD Single Cab

Luxury Pickup: 2017 RAM 1500

Off-Road Pickup: 2017 RAM 2500 Power Wagon

Full-size Pickup: 2017 Nissan Titan

Midsize Pickup: 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro

Best Technology: Honda In-Bed Audio System

Best Connectivity: FCA Uconnect Access

Best Powertrain: 2017 Ford F-150 with 3.5 EcoBoost V-6 Engine

Off-Road Utility Vehicle: 2017 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Full-Size Luxury SUV: 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLS

Mid-Size Luxury SUV: 2017 Jaguar F-Pace

Full-Size SUV: 2017 Nissan Armada

Mid-Size SUV: 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Compact SUV: 2017 Jeep Cherokee

Compact SUV: 2017 Jeep Supertotobet Cherokee

Full-Size Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV): 2016 Mazda CX-9

Mid-Size Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV): 2016 Nissan Murano

Compact Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV): 2016 Jeep Renegade

Luxury Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV): 2017 Volvo XC90

Toyota Motor Corp.’s pickups started off 2017 with a whimper, posting a 4.1 percent sales drop in January.

The company — which builds Tacoma and Tundra pickups in San Antonio — said it sold 19,137 pickups in January, 812 fewer than in January 2016.

That drop included 208 fewer midsize Tacoma pickups in January, or a 1.6 percent drop compared with a year ago, with 12,509 Tacomas sold in January. The company’s full-size Tundra pickup — made exclusively in San Antonio — sold 6,628 units in January, a fall of 604 units, or 8.4 percent compared with January 2016.

“It's tricky to use January as a bellwether for how auto sales will trend for the year. It's the lowest volume month and only accounts for 6 percent of annual sales on average,” said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds executive director of industry analysis.

Caldwell admitted that President Donald Trump is a new “X factor” in the auto world. Trump used the runup to his inauguration to shame automakers Ford, General Motors and Toyota on Twitter.

In a tweet at the beginning of the year, Trump admonished Toyota for building a new Corolla plant in Baja, Mexico. But the new $1 billion Corolla plant is being built in Guanajuato, central Mexico. Toyota has a plant that operates in Baja California, Mexico, but it produces Tacoma pickups.

rdruzin@express-news.net

@druz_journo

rdruzin@express-news.net

@druz_journo

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