Toyota's October Sales Slip 25.9%
Published: November 3rd, 2008
Share
Anyone fancy a Lexus? Now’s a good time to saunter over to their swanky digs; October sales at Toyota’s luxury division are off by 37.6 percent. With Toyota sales down 24.2 percent, call it a combined 25.9 percent decline. Some notable [non] performers: Camry (down 12.8 percent), Prius (-13.6), Highlander (-29.2) Tundra (-65.4). So what’s up? Corolla (+2.2 percent) and the Sequoia (of all things), up 16.3 percent. Notable from Toyota’s press release: any mention whatsoever of the U.S. economic climate. It’s all business with these guys.
More by Robert Farago
Comments
Join the conversation
I swear to God that if I hear that Saved by Zero commercial again, the voices in the old noggin are just going to lose it!!! Is it too much to ask to get a good commerical out of these guys? While other automakers actually show their cars to actually advertise that car (Nissan and BMW anyone?), all Toyota does is market their weekly/monthly/yearly deals and that has helped turn their cars into an appliance that you check the Sunday ad for Best Buy. The cracks are showing at Toyota. Other car makers would do their best, even in these trying times, to fill those cracks.
Raskolnikov Familiar with the term "anecdotal evidence"? Examples of one are meaningless. I'm glad your Buick has been good. It's only one car. And I agree that Gm makes some well built cars, and I realize Toyotas are not perfect. Yet in survey after survey, from various sources GM averages below the industry mean and Toyota continues to average well above and it is news when their vehicles come up short. There are always GM vehicles at or near the bottom, it causes little comment as it is expected. Please note that the three vehicles that were below average in the 2007 CR survey (Tundra, Camry V6, GS) from Toyota have improved. They take care of their problems quickly. If you track individual GM problems they can go on for a decade or more. There are excellent reasons Toyota has won the publics trust and excellent reasons GM has lost it. The reasons are still firmly in place. And the trend of market share for each remains linked to their respective performance. Bunter
The fact that both Honda and Toyota numbers are down by an almost identical 25.x percent, shows that (unbelievably), "Saved by Zero" was irrelevant to Toyota. Honda did not have a similar incentive program. Obviously consumers are just sitting on their wallets, and nothing short of giving them a car for 75% off sticker is going to produce any takers.
Toyota saved by zero? Zero sales? Things slipping a bit in Tokyo. Time to panic? Perhaps.