Does the 4Runner Still Has Place in the market?

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YOUNTVILLE, CA – Although it has been on the market for seven years and its SUV brethren are on the chopping block, the 4Runner still has life left in it, a top Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. executive says.

“There are plans (for a new 4Runner),” says Bob Carter, Toyota Div. group vice president and general manager.

He declines to provide details on timing, but a Ward’s product-cycle forecast indicates a new 4Runner is due for the ’10 model year.

The midsize SUV last was overhauled in 2002 for the ’03 model year. In the seven years since, the market for traditional body-on-frame midsize SUVs in the U.S. has collapsed.

The Middle SUV segment, where the 4Runner resides, has declined from 1.53 million units in 2002 to 436,587 in 2008.

In the same time period, sales of car-based cross/utility vehicles, such as Toyota’s own Highlander and the new Venza, have skyrocketed. Demand in the Ward’s Middle CUV sector, where the Highlander and Venza are positioned, rose from 800,911 units in 2002 to 1.46 million in 2008.... click to read more



Source: wardsauto  

The 2010 is probably going to be a refresh, not a ground-up redesign. Either that, or they're going to bring over a version of one of the company's many foreign-market SUVs and call it "all-new" for the U.S. market.