Toyota Sets a Big Sales Drive
09-18-09, 12:52 PM
#1
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Toyota Sets a Big Sales Drive
Toyota Sets a Big Sales Drive
By KATE LINEBAUGH
Toyota Motor Corp. is preparing a $1 billion marketing blitz to juice U.S. sales in the fourth quarter and plans to expand its line of gas-electric hybrid models under the Prius name, people briefed on the plans said.
The strategy, aimed at revitalizing its key North American operations, was laid out by Toyota President Akio Toyoda and his top U.S. lieutenants at a meeting in Las Vegas with the company's U.S. dealers.
The world's largest auto maker needs to turn around its North American business after acknowledging it expects to report a loss in its current fiscal year, which would be its second annual deficit in a row.
Toyota executives vowed to go "pedal to the metal" in the fourth quarter, using financial strength to drive sales as the U.S. economy appears to be recovering, these people said.
The $1 billion marketing and advertising plan is 30% to 40% more than Toyota typically spends in the quarter, said a person familiar with the company's operations. It includes subsidizing leases and loan rates, offering other customer incentives and helping pay for dealer ads.
"We are going to take advantage in the fourth quarter" by spending big on marketing and ramping up production to fill out inventory, said Irv Miller, group vice president for public affairs at Toyota Motor Sales. "You can't play defense forever. It's time to play offense."
Toyota "plans to be ultraaggressive in the fourth quarter," added Michael Maroone, chief operating officer of dealer network AutoNation Inc.
Mr. Toyoda took control of the company founded by his grandfather in June. Looking for ways to revitalize Toyota, he has fast-tracked plans to bring an "affordable" sports car to the U.S. to try to shake up the auto maker's image and is seeking to give more decision-making power to local executives in the markets they oversee.
As part of its fourth-quarter push, Toyota will raise the projected resale value of its vehicles used in calculating monthly lease payments, said dealers briefed on the plan. That will enable Toyota to offer attractive rates at a time when some other auto makers have cut back on leasing.
On Wednesday, Chrysler Group LLC said it will resume leasing after staying out of the business for more than a year. General Motors Co. also recently returned to leasing after a long hiatus.
Toyota is considering offering new hybrid models larger and smaller than the current compact Prius, people familiar with the matter said. The company this week showed a plug-in hybrid Prius concept car at the Frankfurt auto show.
The Prius line would be marketed as a subbrand within the Toyota brand, dealers who attended the Las Vegas meeting said. Like Scion, Toyota's small, inexpensive vehicles, the Priuses would be sold through Toyota dealerships. Toyota doesn't plan to turn Prius into a separate brand with separate dealers, as it did with Lexus, its luxury make.
The Prius name is "an industry leader and has got such great brand recognition," said Peter DeLongChamps, a vice president at Group 1 Automotive Inc., a national dealership chain. The expansion plan "makes sense."
Mr. Miller, the Toyota spokesman, said "it is not inconceivable that Prius could outsell the Camry," the midsize car that is Toyota's best-selling model.
Toyota's plan to add more models under Prius is an example of empowering local leadership. Jim Lentz, president of Toyota's U.S. sales unit, has been publicly championing the idea for the past year but this is the first indication he received approval from top management.
Since its U.S. release in 2001, Prius has dominated the market for hybrid vehicles and provided additional shine to Toyota's image with American customers. GM has acknowledged the positive image-building Toyota enjoyed from Prius influenced its decision to spend heavily to develop the Chevrolet Volt, a battery-powered car due by the end of 2010.
Toyota's 2010 Prius, released this spring, has sold well despite lackluster sales for other hybrid vehicles.
An expanded Prius line could provide Toyota with a way to use a plant it built near Tupelo, Miss., but hasn't activated. Unused production capacity in North America is one issue hurting the company's financial performance.
Production of the Prius is currently limited by the supply of the nickel-metal-hydride batteries used in its hybrid system.
Toyota currently has three brands: Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Lexus started in 1989 and grew to be the top-selling U.S. luxury brand. In 2002, Toyota launched Scion, aiming at young buyers.
Sales of both Scion and Lexus have been hard hit. Scion sales were down 51% in the first eight months of the year, while Lexus sales were down 30%. German automaker BMW AG is on the verge of unseating Lexus as the top-selling U.S. luxury brand this year.
The dealer gathering was a toned-down affair compared with years prior, when Toyota provided entertainment such as singer Sheryl Crow. The cutbacks are a sign of the measures the company has put in place to preserve cash. At this year's meeting, held in a back conference room at the Venetian resort, only one representative from each of the company's more than 1,300 dealers was allowed to attend and spouses weren't invited. It was the first time Lexus dealers joined Toyota dealers for the annual meeting.
Arriving at the meeting, Mr. Toyoda broke rank with his handlers to reach out and shake hands with a dealer. On stage under three big screens for each of the company's brands, the 53-year-old joked about arriving without a suit and having to buy a tie for the occasion upon arrival.
Mr. Toyoda has great familiarity with the U.S. market. He received an MBA from Babson College in Massachusetts and was an executive at Toyota's joint-venture California assembly plant.
Mr. Toyoda is encouraging more differentiation in vehicles for various markets. Earlier this year, the company released its Venza wagon, which was designed specifically for the North American market. Sales of the wagon have been slow, with only 34,678 sold in the first eight months of the year.
http://online.wsj.com/article/....html
By KATE LINEBAUGH
Toyota Motor Corp. is preparing a $1 billion marketing blitz to juice U.S. sales in the fourth quarter and plans to expand its line of gas-electric hybrid models under the Prius name, people briefed on the plans said.
The strategy, aimed at revitalizing its key North American operations, was laid out by Toyota President Akio Toyoda and his top U.S. lieutenants at a meeting in Las Vegas with the company's U.S. dealers.
The world's largest auto maker needs to turn around its North American business after acknowledging it expects to report a loss in its current fiscal year, which would be its second annual deficit in a row.
Toyota executives vowed to go "pedal to the metal" in the fourth quarter, using financial strength to drive sales as the U.S. economy appears to be recovering, these people said.
The $1 billion marketing and advertising plan is 30% to 40% more than Toyota typically spends in the quarter, said a person familiar with the company's operations. It includes subsidizing leases and loan rates, offering other customer incentives and helping pay for dealer ads.
"We are going to take advantage in the fourth quarter" by spending big on marketing and ramping up production to fill out inventory, said Irv Miller, group vice president for public affairs at Toyota Motor Sales. "You can't play defense forever. It's time to play offense."
Toyota "plans to be ultraaggressive in the fourth quarter," added Michael Maroone, chief operating officer of dealer network AutoNation Inc.
Mr. Toyoda took control of the company founded by his grandfather in June. Looking for ways to revitalize Toyota, he has fast-tracked plans to bring an "affordable" sports car to the U.S. to try to shake up the auto maker's image and is seeking to give more decision-making power to local executives in the markets they oversee.
As part of its fourth-quarter push, Toyota will raise the projected resale value of its vehicles used in calculating monthly lease payments, said dealers briefed on the plan. That will enable Toyota to offer attractive rates at a time when some other auto makers have cut back on leasing.
On Wednesday, Chrysler Group LLC said it will resume leasing after staying out of the business for more than a year. General Motors Co. also recently returned to leasing after a long hiatus.
Toyota is considering offering new hybrid models larger and smaller than the current compact Prius, people familiar with the matter said. The company this week showed a plug-in hybrid Prius concept car at the Frankfurt auto show.
The Prius line would be marketed as a subbrand within the Toyota brand, dealers who attended the Las Vegas meeting said. Like Scion, Toyota's small, inexpensive vehicles, the Priuses would be sold through Toyota dealerships. Toyota doesn't plan to turn Prius into a separate brand with separate dealers, as it did with Lexus, its luxury make.
The Prius name is "an industry leader and has got such great brand recognition," said Peter DeLongChamps, a vice president at Group 1 Automotive Inc., a national dealership chain. The expansion plan "makes sense."
Mr. Miller, the Toyota spokesman, said "it is not inconceivable that Prius could outsell the Camry," the midsize car that is Toyota's best-selling model.
Toyota's plan to add more models under Prius is an example of empowering local leadership. Jim Lentz, president of Toyota's U.S. sales unit, has been publicly championing the idea for the past year but this is the first indication he received approval from top management.
Since its U.S. release in 2001, Prius has dominated the market for hybrid vehicles and provided additional shine to Toyota's image with American customers. GM has acknowledged the positive image-building Toyota enjoyed from Prius influenced its decision to spend heavily to develop the Chevrolet Volt, a battery-powered car due by the end of 2010.
Toyota's 2010 Prius, released this spring, has sold well despite lackluster sales for other hybrid vehicles.
An expanded Prius line could provide Toyota with a way to use a plant it built near Tupelo, Miss., but hasn't activated. Unused production capacity in North America is one issue hurting the company's financial performance.
Production of the Prius is currently limited by the supply of the nickel-metal-hydride batteries used in its hybrid system.
Toyota currently has three brands: Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Lexus started in 1989 and grew to be the top-selling U.S. luxury brand. In 2002, Toyota launched Scion, aiming at young buyers.
Sales of both Scion and Lexus have been hard hit. Scion sales were down 51% in the first eight months of the year, while Lexus sales were down 30%. German automaker BMW AG is on the verge of unseating Lexus as the top-selling U.S. luxury brand this year.
The dealer gathering was a toned-down affair compared with years prior, when Toyota provided entertainment such as singer Sheryl Crow. The cutbacks are a sign of the measures the company has put in place to preserve cash. At this year's meeting, held in a back conference room at the Venetian resort, only one representative from each of the company's more than 1,300 dealers was allowed to attend and spouses weren't invited. It was the first time Lexus dealers joined Toyota dealers for the annual meeting.
Arriving at the meeting, Mr. Toyoda broke rank with his handlers to reach out and shake hands with a dealer. On stage under three big screens for each of the company's brands, the 53-year-old joked about arriving without a suit and having to buy a tie for the occasion upon arrival.
Mr. Toyoda has great familiarity with the U.S. market. He received an MBA from Babson College in Massachusetts and was an executive at Toyota's joint-venture California assembly plant.
Mr. Toyoda is encouraging more differentiation in vehicles for various markets. Earlier this year, the company released its Venza wagon, which was designed specifically for the North American market. Sales of the wagon have been slow, with only 34,678 sold in the first eight months of the year.
http://online.wsj.com/article/....html
09-18-09, 01:05 PM
#3
That's a cool $1 billion...I wonder how much will be allocated for Lexus. The Prius brand has significant uptapped potential, provided the added lineup encapsulates the Prius design / mission profile in a well-translated manner. And hmm, sharing the dealer meeting with Lexus and Toyota, at the Venetian? Well what happens in Vegas...
10-03-09, 12:57 PM
#6
Speaks French in Russian
Ive seen about SIX new Toyota commercials all day today. 
I assume it is apart of the billion dollar marketing plan. They are very quick and to the point and are overall great commercials. 
I assume it is apart of the billion dollar marketing plan. They are very quick and to the point and are overall great commercials.
10-03-09, 03:06 PM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
you can make a product exciting by revising its sheet metal.
if you bring an affordable sportscar to market, it better look better than a genesis coupe.
or else automatic fail.
if you bring an affordable sportscar to market, it better look better than a genesis coupe.
or else automatic fail.
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10-03-09, 03:25 PM
#8
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All Toyota has to do is make the Toyobaru coupe look better than the 7th gen Celica, and it will automatically look better than the Genesis coupe as well.
10-03-09, 10:24 PM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Ceilca? HOW long has it been out of production? a decade?
that's all huh? 
All Toyota has to do is make the Toyobaru coupe look better than the 7th gen Celica, and it will automatically look better than the Genesis coupe as well.
10-04-09, 01:07 PM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
a 1bn marketing effort, wow...
a lot of that money will probably be given to dealers though for local ads.
a lot of that money will probably be given to dealers though for local ads.
10-04-09, 01:10 PM
#12
Super Moderator
I think they also care A LOT about the resale value of their cars in the long term, & that cannot be good stretegy for them ...
Last edited by Gojirra99; 10-04-09 at 02:13 PM.
10-04-09, 04:13 PM
#13
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Posts: n/a
With the bad news from GM/Chrysler even somewhat Ford, this is a ripe time to get more sales. Nissan with a sportier lineup hasn't really gained much anymore and Honda is doing okay at best. Hyundai is a key worry to me, more than anyone else.
Even with a blah lineup, this is a good time to get people to come to the brand....
Even with a blah lineup, this is a good time to get people to come to the brand....
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