PODCAST: Toyota Tundra in Mzansi can shake up the bakkie game
South Africans love driving bakkies, the bigger the better. This love-affair can soon grow more intense with the imminent arrival the Toyota Tundra in right-hand drive.
The Toyota Tundra is an American truck-styled bakkie built for the North American market manufactured at two assembly plants in Indiana and Texas. While it is built exclusively in left-hand drive (LHD), Australian-firm Autogroup International (AGI) imports them and then convert them into right-hand drive.
Durban-based Rospa International has now entered into a partnership agreement with AGI which could soon lead to the Toyota Tundra making its way to Mzansi via Down Under.
Toyota Tundra makes a Pitstop
On this week's episode of The Citizen Motoring's Pitstop podcast, we discuss the bakkie's potential in South Africa.
The Toyota Tundra is offered as a hybrid in the US. A 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine hooked up to an electric motor and battery pack combines to deliver a monstrous 325kW of power and 790Nm of torque. These numbers, along with its outlandishly big dimensions, are exactly the reasons local bakkie fans would crave to hav a Toyota Tundra standing in their driveways.
Rospa International has a solid reputation for importing classic and sports cars, mainly from Japan. These include Nissan GT-Rs, Honda NSXs, Toyota AE86s and Mazda RX-7s. Its partnership with AGI will also see its portfolio expand to a range of American cars. These include the likes of the Dodge Challenger, Hummer EV and Camaro.
ALSO READ: Importer to offer right-hand-drive Toyota Tundra in Mzansi
Experienced converters
'AGI firmly believes in right-hand-drive markets and the opportunities they present,' says Rob Hill, CEO of AGI.
'Since the early 1990s, we have carefully re-engineered over 5 000 LHD vehicles for export all over the world. We can now add South Africa to that list through Rospa International, a company that shares our vision and passion.'
Rospa International will offer finance on the imported cars, as well as three-year/100 000km warranties with after-sales back-up.
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