CARMEL VALLEY, California — Toyota is from Mars, Detroit automakers are from Venus.
Toyota, America's best-selling brand in 2021, makes rugged trucks in Texas for American buyers. But it has always pursued a more retail-focused strategy than Motor City truckmakers who split their attention between retail and commercial fleet buyers.
As the federal government tries to force automakers to make EVs over the next decade, that truck strategy is diverging even further as the 2022 Toyota Tundra sidesteps fully electric trucks for retail buyer-preferred hybrid powertrains while General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. build battery-powered Silverado EV and F-150 Lightning pickups for their retail and commercial fleet customers.
