Toyota Looking at Price Hikes to Fend Off Inflation and Rising Costs
Toyota may be one of the largest automakers in the world, but it’s not immune to rising costs and rampant inflation. The Japanese giant is seeing higher costs and shrinking profits and now says that it needs to take action to stem the tide, including raising prices on its vehicles.
On a recent earnings call, executives noted the need to adjust prices to offset increases in raw materials and other components. Toyota Chief Communications Officer Jun Nagata said that some prices have already begun changing.
Toyota buyers in the U.S. will feel the pinch, but they’re not alone. The automaker will also raise prices in Europe, looking to cover its more than $2 billion climb in costs between July and September 2022. As Automotive News noted, the company’s prices have already increased in response to inflation, but more drastic action is needed.
Though it needs to cover its costs, Toyota can’t jack prices up too hard, or it’ll risk losing customers. Buyers want a cheap Corolla and expect to pay a little more than thirty grand for a decent Camry, so there’s no way Toyota can throw out tradition and raise prices with reckless abandon.
Toyota’s earnings are down, and costs are rising at a time when it’s also struggling to produce enough vehicles. During the call, the automaker stated a new goal of 9.2 million cars, which is half a million short of the plan it set earlier this year. The ongoing microchip shortage, war, and a load of other global issues have made it hard to keep up.
[Image: Shutterstock]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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Nope, no inflation. Joe says so. Gas is down over a buck fifty since he took office. Just ask him. I wish I could get my propane wholesaler to listen to him. Those guys are charging 60 percent more for propane to heat my home this year. Clearly they are gouging me since the inflation reduction act is a thing. I don't know why it's a thing, because why do you have to pass an inflation reduction act if there is no inflation? Hmm.
True, vehicle prices are going up. But higher interest rates should help with financing.
"inflation caused by bad policy" I take it you don't have a map of the world in your possession. Inflation is a GLOBAL problem.
Art, to your point, you could say we have a pandemic of bad public policy.