How The Toyota Tacoma Took On America’s Pickup Trucks

The pickup truck segment is perhaps Detroit’s last stronghold in the automotive market. And American manufacturers lead or outright dominate three out of four segments - compact, full-size and heavy duty are all led by Ford, GM and Stellantis. But for for the mid-size category, Toyota is king. The Toyota Tacoma outsells all of its rivals by large margin, and has had the longest running tenure in the segment. Consistency, careful attention to customers and Toyota’s stellar reputation for quality, durability and reliability have helped secure its lead, even when it hasn’t been the most innovative player. But the segment is growing more crowded. Watch the video above to learn how the Japanese automaker took the crown. Chapters: 0:00 - 1:41 Title card - How Toyota took on America’s trucks 1:50 Chapter 1 - Staying the course 4:45 Chapter 2 - The ‘good enough’ truck 9:17 Chapter 3 - Challenges Producer: Robert Ferris Editor: Darren Geeter Animation: Christina Locopo Senior Managing Producer: Tala Hadavi Post Production Support: Evan Lee Miller Additional footage: Getty Images, Ford, Toyota, GM, Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes, Rivian » Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC » Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision About CNBC: From 'Wall Street' to 'Main Street' to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more. Want to make extra money outside of your day job? Sign up for CNBC's new online course How to Earn Passive Income Online to learn about common passive income streams, tips to get started and real-life success stories. CNBC Make It readers can use special discount code CNBC40 to get 40% off through 8/15/24: https://cnb.cx/4dFP9Wa Connect with CNBC News Online Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/ Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC Follow CNBC on Threads: https://cnb.cx/threads Follow CNBC News on X: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC Follow CNBC on WhatsApp: https://cnb.cx/WhatsAppCNBC #CNBC How The Toyota Tacoma Took On America’s Pickup Trucks

Added 21 Jun 2026