Next-gen Toyota Tacoma, Tundra to share a frame?

The Hilux sold in global markets will ride on the new architecture, too.

Toyota's modular approach to building cars won't stop at its sedans, hatchbacks, and crossovers. The company is planning to make the next generation of the Tacoma and the Tundra (pictured) on the same basic frame, according to a recent report.

The architecture is called F1 internally, Automotive News learned from sources close to the project. As of 2019, Toyota manufactures the Tundra and the Tacoma on the same assembly line in San Antonio, Texas. The Tacoma is also made in Mexico. Building both on the same platform is expected to streamline the production process, while helping Toyota leverage the benefits of economies of scale.

The F1 architecture will also be found underneath the next-generation 4Runner and Sequoia, models based on the Tacoma and the Tundra, respectively. Finally, Toyota will build the next Hilux on it. How the firm will design a frame versatile enough to underpin these five different models remains to be seen, but the report seemingly confirms the 4Runner and the Sequoia will retain their body-on-frame configuration when they're replaced.

Automotive News said the first truck on the F1 platform could make its debut in 2020, likely under the sheet metal of the next-generation Tundra, and arrive in time for the 2021 model year. Toyota hasn't commented on the report, and it hasn't shed insight about what it plans to build its future trucks on.