Toyota is one of the best-selling car manufacturers in the world. The Tacoma is one of Toyota’s best-known models and is one of the best-selling midsize trucks on the market. That said, despite its popularity, the Toyota Tacoma had a shaky start to the year in terms of sales, but luckily for Toyota, its sales have picked up.
The Toyota Tacoma was selling slower than usual in early 2022
The Tacoma has always been a popular truck, but according to GoodCarBadCar, its sales were plummeting at the beginning of the year. This is actually a continuation of a trend that started in 2021, and may reflect the supply chain issues facing Toyota and other automakers.
Toyota, like many other automakers, was forced to cut production and halt some production lines temporarily, simply because the supply chain couldn’t keep up.
That has led to lower dealer inventories and likely lower sales as well. As of January 2022, Toyota only reported selling 15,285 units of the Tacoma, and this was the lowest number of Tacomas the Japanese automaker sold in January since 2017. Toyota only sold 12,509 units of the midsize pickup in January of 2017.
Sales increased month-over-month, but Toyota still sold fewer Tacos than it did in 2021. For example, in February 2022, Toyota sold 16,185 units of Tacomas, significantly fewer trucks than the 20,578 units Toyota sold in February. 2021. The big picture looked similar.
Toyota Tacoma sales began to pick up mid-year
In the first six months of 2022, Toyota sold 108,648 units of the truck in total. By comparison, in the first six months of 2021, the Japanese automaker sold a total of 139,296 units. That’s a year-over-year decline of more than 30,000 units, which equates to a drop in sales of about 22%. That being said, since this sharp drop in sales is likely due to the supply chain crisis, sales did eventually pick up.
By July 2022, sales picked up, and in fact, July 2022 was the best July for Tacoma sales. Toyota sold 23,917 units of the Tacoma in July 2022, a few hundred units more than the Japanese auto giant sold in July 2021. Tacoma sales in 2022 also surpassed 2021 sales for the months of August, October and november. Data is not currently available for September 2022.
All said and done, Toyota has so far sold a total of 194,998 Tacoma units in 2022, and this does not include sales in September or sales that occurred in December.
2021 was the Taco’s biggest-selling year, as Toyota moved 252,490 units of the truck. If the sales data for September and December are good for the Tacoma, then it’s possible that, even despite the slow start, 2022 could be the best year ever for the Taco.
There are many reasons why the Toyota Tacoma remains popular.
Those big sales numbers should come as no surprise, as the Tacoma has been the best-selling small truck for nearly two decades. There are three main reasons why this has been the case. The first is capacity, as the Taco can tow up to 6,800 pounds when properly equipped. That’s enough towing capacity for many drivers.
The second is reliability. Toyota is known for being reliable, and the Tacoma is known for being a capable workhorse that can last a long time.
Lastly, there is the price. The Tacoma starts at around $27,000, making it relatively affordable for a truck in today’s market.
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