Toyota Dealers Offer Discount On Newly Redesigned Tundra
By NORIHIKO SHIROUZU - March 9, 2007 10:06 a.m.
Toyota Motor Corp. says some of its dealers are offering as much as a $1,500 discount on the basic work truck version of Toyota's newly redesigned Tundra truck, just barely one month after it went on sale.
The discount for the Texas-built large truck reflects the intense competition in this lucrative segment, and the challenge Toyota faces in its effort to substantially expand its sales in a segment long dominated by Detroit brands.
The discount is a one-month, nationwide program that began this month and is described by Toyota as "another tool," to spur sales, in addition to relatively low APR and lease deals Toyota has already offered since the outset.
While the Tundra launch is still in its early stages, Toyota's top management in Japan is concerned about whether the company can meet a target of selling 200,000 new Tundras this year, according to senior Toyota executives who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Toyota has manufacturing capacity to build more than 300,000 Tundras between two plants in San Antonio, Texas, and Princeton, Indiana. Some company executives, one insider said, believe Toyota might have rushed too much to build up manufacturing capacity for the Tundra when rising gas prices and an uncertain U.S. economic outlook may continue to impact sales of big gas-guzzling vehicles.
Industry executives and analysts have cautioned that the uncertain housing market could weigh on demand of large pickups from contractors. Moreover, Toyota's new truck is launching just as General Motors Corp. is accelerating the launch of its popular Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, which boast the best fuel efficiency in the large pickup segment. Ford Motor Co., the long time segment leader, and DaimlerChrysler AG's Dodge brand, are heavily promoting their rival trucks, with "Truck Month" promotions.
Still, some Toyota dealers noted the single-cab version of the Tundra has not sold well as expected, even though consumers were snapping up the double-cab version. Toyota dealers said, among other factors, the Tundra regular cab was too loaded with features and was priced too high and thus has failed to become an attractive vehicle to plumbers, contractors and other price-conscious commercial truck buyers, the very buyers it has set out to dazzle.
In some regions, the dealers also said trade-ins they are receiving are mostly Toyotas. "We are trading in mainly Toyota trucks. Practically no domestics," one dealer in the Southeast region said.
Toyota's Mr. Smith insisted attracting commercial buyers and those previously loyal to domestic big-rig trucks from Detroit, "that's our goal long term. I don't think anybody had an expectation that in the first four weeks we have a completely different buyer makeup than our current Toyota [truck] customer base."
He said of about 8,500 people who bought new Tundras Toyota has sold since last month, about 30% of them did so by trading in domestic trucks. "We're pleased with the amount of domestic trades that are coming in on the Tundra. It's increasing every week."
Toyota's new program offers dealers on average three $250 "coupons" they can use per Tundra regular cab to entice the customer.
Toyota executives say a dealer could use as many as four coupons per sale to offer the customer as much as a $1,000 discount on the truck, but the total number of coupons they use per truck will have to be three on average at the end of the month.
Taking advantage of the Toyota factory incentive program, Southeast Toyota, the independent distributor of Toyota vehicles for Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina, began offering on March 2 $1,500 dealer cash on the 2007 Tundra regular cab by supplementing the program with its own money. Southeast Toyota also will kick back $350 per Tundra sold when a dealer in its region meets the sales target it set on the big truck. It wasn't clear immediately how other regions of Toyota's U.S. market were taking advantage of the program.
Full article at link.
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The first week the Tundra was out here the offer was a pair of boots with every purchase, the second week they were out, dealers around here were offering $3000 off regular cabs, the 3rd week and still going on is $3000 off any Tundra.
Yep, the Toyota salesman I met while test driving the Tundra told me about the boots. I'm thinking something more than a $100 pair of Ropers (boots) are needed to sway potential buyers. . .
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-Behind every argument is someone’s ignorance.
-Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
Yeah, I thought the boots were a pretty funny idea. I wonder who came up with that, was it someone in Japan or in the US and I wonder if it's only in Texas that they are offering them. I can only imagine what all the people that moved here from California think of that offer
Wait until the CrewMax hits the market, then sales should take off.
I don't remember where I read it, but I thought I read that Toyota only expected the CrewMax to be about 10% of sales. Maybe i'm wrong in that figure, but I was pretty sure i read that somewhere.
Just having an product is one key of marketing. following that up with promotions is what toyota in the past has failed. We buy cus we like it...not cus we got a discount...good thing toyota is considering the other P's in marketing as well.
That's way off. Crew Max should account for well over 40% of sales.
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2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid 2AZ-FXE 62,000 mi
That's way off. Crew Max should account for well over 40% of sales.
Where do you get that figure from? Is there an article someone can point me to? I just seem to remember reading that it wasn't going to account for that many sales and pointed to the Dodge Ram MEGACAB as an example.
Tundra CrewMax Reveal 2007 North American International Auto Show COBO Hall, Riverview Ballroom January 7, 2007, 12:10 PM Eastern Time Jim Lentz - TMS Executive Vice President
"The new Tundra is by far the most American new product launch in our (Toyota’s) history.
The entire engineering development program was headquartered in Ann Arbor. Styling was done at our Calty Design Center in California and Michigan. Engines will be built in Alabama, and transmissions in North Carolina, with final assembly at production facilities in Texas and Indiana.
The final product is a quantum leap in concept and execution. It is bigger, stronger and far more capable than the Tundra it replaces. It also reflects a striking change in who the new Tundra was designed for. Tundra was 100-percent customer driven, developed to appeal to an influential group of truck buyers who treat their trucks as a tool and whose opinion other truck buyers respect.
The Toyota Tundra Regular Cab…and Double Cab…and the world premiere of the biggest of them all…the Tundra CrewMax…With three completely redefined cabs, three engines, three bed sizes, three wheelbases, and a total of 31 different models available, Tundra will offer buyers of full-size trucks a broad range of features, interior versatility, and most importantly, capability.
The Tundra Regular Cab is now essentially an Xtracab, designed for realistic work-truck applications, with extra-large storage behind the driver's seat, giving it one of the largest passenger compartments in its class. The Regular Cab into a true urban street-truck.Last year's Tundra Access Cab is gone, replaced by a Double Cab, with front-hinged rear doors, rear seats with a 22-degree backrest angle, and six inches more rear legroom. Capable of carrying a crew of six, the new Double Cab will represent about 65 percent of Tundra sales. The CrewMax fills the bill for a wide range of buyers, seeking roominess, comfort and convenience. Its best-in-class rear legroom of 44.5 inches provides the interior accommodations of a full-size SUV, with the utility of a pickup.
It all begins under the hood. For Regular and Double Cabs, there's the standard 4.0-liter V6, producing 236 horsepower. A 4.7-liter i-Force V8, optional for these models and standard for CrewMax, provides 271 horsepower. And then there's the all-new 5.7-liter i-Force V8, the most powerful V8 ever offered by Toyota. Available for every model, this new V8 puts out an impressive 381 horsepower.
But more importantly, it provides a work-truck-worthy 401 pounds-feet of peak torque, while achieving an estimated fuel economy of 16 city and 20 highway for 4x2 models, and 14/18 for 4x4 models.
Towing is one of Tundra's true strengths. When equipped with the 5.7-liter V8 engine and Tow Package, all three cab configurations offer maximum towing capacity in excess of 10,000 pounds, with the Regular Cab tipping the scales at a maximum of 10,800 pounds.
In fact more than 95 percent of all Tundras powered by the 5.7 will be equipped with the towing package which includes a towing receiver, sub-frame assembly, extra-duty cooling and electrical systems to provide greater durability over the long haul, and a Tow/Haul mode that lets the driver change the transmission shift points and throttle response for more effective towing of heavy loads.
The Tundra is built on a new foundation that is optimized for vigorous work duty, impact safety and ride quality. Tundra's advanced TripleTech frame uses wide, full-boxed frame rails for the front portion, reinforced C-channel under the cab, and an open C-channel underneath the bed to maximize strength, ride quality, and durability. The New Tundra is equipped it with standard
18-inch wheels, a segment first, in order to fit some of the biggest brakes in the class.
Tundra will deliver the highest level of standard safety features among all full-size pickups.Tundra is the first full-size pickup to feature standard front seat airbags and roll-sensing side-curtain airbags in all models. Tundra will also be the first full-size pickup to offer the traction-enhancing dynamic control of an automatic limited-slip rear differential as standard equipment.
Finally, all Tundra models feature the STAR Safety System The system integrates four-wheel anti-lock brakes, electronic brake-force distribution, brake assist, traction control and vehicle stability control, another industry first.
Tundra Regular and Double Cabs go on sale in early February, with the CrewMax arriving at dealerships in March. Full-line pricing shoud be announced by the time the Tundra debuts in South Dakota at the Sioux Falls and Sioux Empire Farm Shows.."
So if the Double cab is 65%, that only leaves 35% for the regular cab and the Crew Max. Let's assume that the 35% is split evenly between the two, that's only 17.5% of Tundra sales going to the CrewMax. . . . hardly the cause for slow sales (though I do think it is too early to call it a "slow seller" or "bad launch").
__________________
-Behind every argument is someone’s ignorance.
-Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
My sticker on the SR5 DoubleCab was 34,400 and they knocked off $1300 from that. So that is right on line w/ the article...and this was a doubleCab not Reg Cab. I didn't get the boots....but I got 3.9% financing. I heard alot of grumbling about the sticker shock....but I found looking at GM and Ford P/U's the stickers were as high as 44K. See that's what they do..set the price high...you spend all day haggling em down to 33~35K so you think you got a good deal. Toyota's are usually priced pretty close to what you pay...you might get a few thousand off, but no way 8K~10K off! That price haggling shit makes me walk right out the dealership...done it many times, including the first Toyota place that I was going to buy my new Tundra.(sorry for the rant) Anyway I felt I got a good deal at Toyota West here in Columbus and we had a price in 10 minutes of talking to John Masters there. Very good experience.
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