Toyota Pumps Production for 2014 Tundra Pickup

Toyota Motor Corp. is already planning to boost output of its redesigned fullsize Tundra pickup, even though the 2014 truck won't go into production until late August.

The San Antonio plant that builds the Tundra also makes the Tacoma compact pickup. But Tundra chief engineer Mike Sweers tells reporters that Toyota might shift Tacoma work to Baja, Mexico, to free up capacity for the larger truck. Overtime and speeding up assembly are other options.

The company says orders for 2014 Tundras have been stronger than expected, and it believes still unannounced variants of the truck will push demand even higher.

Toyota hopes the 2014 model, which replaces the current-generation Tundra introduced seven years ago, will finally give the truck the size, power, styling and "built-in-American" credibility needed to compete with Detroit's Big Three carmakers. The company predicts the new model will push Tundra volume to 137,000 units in 2014 compared with 107,000 units this year.

The redesign also is timely. Chrysler's fullsize Ram pickup was last overhauled in 2012. General Motors will introduce all-new versions of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups later this year. And Ford's all-new F-150 pickup will debut next year as a 2015 model. An overhauled Nissan Titan truck also is due in 2014.