The new Tacoma supercharger will be launched in the fourth quarter, and will support the company’s growth plans after a successful recapitalisation.

Automotive engineering company, Sprintex (ASX:SIX) has just announced the development and manufacture of a new and exciting supercharger system built for the Toyota Tacoma 3.5 V6 pickup truck range.

The new supercharger is developed to meet the rising demand in the USA, Middle East and Asian markets – places where the Tacoma is fast becoming a popular choice for off-road and recreational lifestyle enthusiasts.

The cost of the development is predicted to be around $500k, a significant investment for the company, with sales targeted to commence in the fourth quarter of this year.

Toyota Tacoma 3.5 V6 Supercharger

Over 1 million Tacoma models are currently on (and off) the road, with approximately 250,000 vehicles in production annually.

The model is also sold under the brand name Hilux in Australia and other countries.

This production size is similar to the US production of the Jeep Wrangler, in which Sprintex already offers a supercharger system.

 

Sprintex
Sprintex’s new supercharger system built for the Toyota Tacoma. Image: supplied

 

“Mechanically, it’s quite similar to the Jeep 3.6L Pentastar range, so for us, it’s a relatively low hanging fruit,” says Sprintex CEO Jay Upton, who Stockhead caught up with this morning.

The similarity will allow the Tacoma supercharger design to utilise many common parts from the Jeep Wrangler model, which in turn will considerably reduce not only the development costs, but also the turnaround time to production.

The new design will also leverage Sprintex’s expertise in technically superior nylon composite manifolding.

With regards to nylon, Sprintex says it has achieved a significant competitive advantage over the market – being the first to introduce nylon composite to supercharger systems in 2014.  The company is currently still the only manufacturer of nylon composite supercharger systems.

Upton explains that nylon composites are superior to the traditional aluminum-made manifolds – and over the last 10 years, major manufacturers have also transitioned to them.

“Nylon has many benefits. Firstly it’s lighter, and second it has far less thermal conductivity, so we don’t have a problem where heat doesn’t transfer through the manifolding to the supercharger,” Upton explained.

There is also the cost benefit.

“When you produce an injection-molded nylon, it doesn’t require machining afterward, whereas metal-based manifolds require machining, and this makes the overall per part cost lower for nylon composites,” he said.

As for competition, there are far less competitors for the Tacoma superchargers, according to Upton.  Where the Jeep superchargers have eight to ten companies competing for the same market, only one other competitor is currently selling a similar product for Tacoma.

He also promises that the new Tacoma supercharger will be a top of the line, state-of-the-art supercharger, and is a step-up even from the Jeep version.

“The new Jeep supercharger system, which will go on sale in June, is without a doubt the most advanced aftermarket supercharger system available.”

“But the Tacoma supercharger will be a further development from the Jeep system, so it will be state-of-the-art,” he added.

Sprintex said the new supercharger will lay a foundation and open significant opportunities for the company to expand its product range of composite supercharger systems in the US.

Asked about the sales prospects for the new Tacoma supercharger, Upton is rightly optimistic.

“Our distributors are very confident they will have good demand for the new Tacoma superchargers,” he said.

Reinstatement on the ASX

Sprintex has just been reinstated on the ASX following a successful $6.5 million recapitalisation that was raised through a public placement at 8.6c a share.

The company has restructured its management,  and is now back as a more a competitive outfit after significantly reducing its cost base.

Sprintex is also currently pursuing a couple of significant pipelines with major OEMs in Asia, and has its eyes on the hydrogen fuel and EV markets.

This article was developed in collaboration with Sprintex, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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