Declining auto sales in the US have forced many automakers to make cutbacks and to rethink their current lineups. Until now this did not include Toyota which continues to sell record levels of its Prius, Camry and Yaris vehicles.
Just as GM is having to cut its SUV and truck production, Toyota is also dealing with the fact that the automaker misjudged the US market. Thanks to the slowing economy and record gas prices, large trucks and SUVs are no longer desirable by car buyers. Since Toyota misjudged the market the current inventory of these vehicles has reached record levels. The number of units at dealerships and on the way to dealerships has increased to 376,000, that's 100K more than last summer and up from 348,000 last year.
February was the highest dealer stock in the history of our region in terms of gross units,” said a Toyota dealer in the Southeast region. “I don’t think we have hit an objective since July or August.”
Full Story: eGMCarTech
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Comments (10)
Poor Toyota, you're a good 10-15 years to late with your superior (to "Big 3" junk) trucks and SUV's.
Posted by Noya | April 28, 2008 8:28 PM
Posted on April 28, 2008 20:28
Toyota has quality above all.
Posted by R3TNIAP | April 28, 2008 8:37 PM
Posted on April 28, 2008 20:37
That's inventory people, not sales! In other words... Sales are DOWN!
Posted by DUH | April 28, 2008 8:57 PM
Posted on April 28, 2008 20:57
Poorer quality will make GM/Ford and Chrysler drop from shelves quicker then Toyota.
Nevertheless, good time to start exporting these trucks to Russia. The rubel is at an all time high against the US$. And they produce oil vs the US consumes oil...
Posted by waldorf and statler | April 29, 2008 1:42 AM
Posted on April 29, 2008 01:42
It is pretty bad that they can keep a handle on there inventories, I thought Toyota was good at everything. This means heavy incentives are on the way.
Posted by Jeremy | April 29, 2008 5:22 AM
Posted on April 29, 2008 05:22
Hopefully this means the prices of on-lot 2007 trucks goes down. At our local Ford dealer (Beechmont Ford), price on many 07 SUV's are cut back by like $6000 to $8000.
@DUH:
Did you even read the article, or just post based on the title headline? The article directly implies sales are down. There's no need for you to restate what's written, unless you're the author... Are you the author?
Posted by Jason | April 29, 2008 5:23 AM
Posted on April 29, 2008 05:23
Yup, Toyota's trucks have better quality then GM, Ford, and Dodge alright. Who was it that had cam shafts and cranks snapping again?
Posted by Avatar | April 29, 2008 6:43 AM
Posted on April 29, 2008 06:43
It is a general rule that car companies usually plan for trends 4-5 years prior to a model launch. The fact that large suv/truck sales are down for Toyota et al should really not be a surprise. Essentially, the American consumer will really have to evaluate his/her needs now that gas prices will probably never go down from current levels. The article does not state anything about Scion inventories. I can only surmise that the newer models are bigger, but are less fuel efficient and "edgy" and may have turned off there target buyer. I generally see many more mid30's-50's drivers in Scions these days.
Posted by longdxcommuter | April 29, 2008 12:51 PM
Posted on April 29, 2008 12:51
No need to worry folks.
With Toyota buying back all those Tacomas for the frame rot issues, there's going plenty incentives on their part to keep those people in Toyota trucks. And they probably will. Especially ones just gathering bird poop on the lot.
I too am seeing plenty of Q-tips and Blue tops driving Scions. Seeing Gram and Gramps in an Xb still turns my head.
Posted by Trooper Bri | April 29, 2008 2:53 PM
Posted on April 29, 2008 14:53
Of course, it could have something to do with the fact that people want trucks the way they want them. And they want them on the lot when they get there. Toyota learned that lesson. It's also one of the reasons that Dodge, Chevrolet, GMC and Ford dealers' "days on lot" numbers are higher than everybody elses.
And now Toyota's too.
It's like so many other statistics in retail, used out of context it sounds one way to the uninformed and sounds stupid to people who have managed by those numbers.
You always want the number to be low, but the more options you have in a specific model, the more inventory (and days in inventory) you're going to have.
Scion has no excuse.
Posted by hater | April 29, 2008 7:01 PM
Posted on April 29, 2008 19:01