Texas Tundra Plant, Now More Active

Detroit's 'Big 3' automakers probably don’t want to hear the fact that Tundra plant in Texas is producing one pickup truck every minute. This information was unleashed by Toyota before its first assembly of Tundra.

As the Detroit's Big 3, which is composed of General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler AG and, Ford Motor Co., struggles to maintain its standing in the pickup truck segment, Toyota plans to manufacture a total of 200,000 pickups every year. Said production is attributed to the highly automated and sophisticated facility of its new Tundra plant in Texas.

Mike Goss, Toyota spokesperson said, "If consumer demand pushes the plant on San Antonio's south side to operate at full capacity, which could happen by next spring, a truck will roll off the line an average of every 73 seconds." He added, "From beginning to end a truck will take 20 to 24 hours to complete."

Aside from the Texas plant, Toyota Tundra high performance parts are also assembled at Toyota's Princeton, Ind., plant. However, the production is boosted by active participation of the new plant in Texas. Toyota's Tundra plant in Texas in conjunction with its 21 onsite suppliers is expected to employ 4,100 people. Said information was earlier announced by Toyota.

Don Jackson, vice president of quality and production for Toyota's Texas arm said, "The suppliers will provide about 70 percent of the parts used in the Tundras and 50 percent of the value of parts in each truck."

Tundra replaced the T100. The second generation version of Tundra, which was introduced at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show, is made larger to serve as a mighty rival for Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, Dodge Ram, and Nissan Titan. Accessories Toyota Tundra truck parts are also upgraded to enhance quality and functionality.

Auto analysts are saying that Toyota is poised to overtake General Motors Corp. as the largest automaker around the world. Moreover, Toyota is initiating strategies to win the reign. So far, said strategies are making good impressions in the automotive world.

Nowadays, Toyota and Ford are spending millions to dethrone Ford in the pickup truck segment. However, no other automakers have succeeded in trying to topple the throne of Ford. It has dominated the segment for several decades now. In fact, its F-150 remains as the top-selling car in America.

Mark Clarkson is a 35 year old marketing consultant for a leading auto parts store. This native of Denver is also an offroad enthusiast.