Trouble at the top? Toyota vehicles sitting longer on dealer lots

Trouble at the top? Toyota vehicles sitting longer on dealer lots

Filed under: Car Buying, SUVs, Trucks/Pickups, Plants/Manufacturing, Scion, Toyota
Although Toyota has recently claimed the title of the World's Largest Automaker in terms of global sales, the Japanese-giant is finding out that life at the top isn't all it's cracked-up to be. While the Camry, Corolla, Yaris and Prius sedans are reportedly brisk movers, the same thing cannot be said about Toyota's line of trucks and sport utility vehicles. Toyota has cut Tundra and Sequoia production already, but dealers are still declining to purchase them, pushing the number of unclaimed units to an all-time high. Automotive News quotes an unnamed Toyota dealer as saying, "Last month, Southeast Toyota had 9,700 vehicles that had been turned down twice by dealers and are either sitting at the port or at sea. That's a significant number." Right now, Toyota/Scion has a high 58-day supply of available inventory on hand.

Some dealers, though, see the high number of available units as a blessing-in-disguise. "We've been asking for more inventory for two years and now we finally got it. This is a great opportunity. You have to take it when you can get it," says Steve Cain, general manager of Lewis Toyota-Scion in Topeka, Kansas. Regardless of your viewpoint, we expect that Toyota will align itself with market realities in order to bring production in line with actual sales sooner rather than later. In other words, if you've been in the market for a Toyota truck, chances are good you'll get a decent deal.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
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Cool, but I won't be getting a truck anytime soon until gas prices lower or alternative fuel is available.

I wish I didn't own a truck.

dealers should start renting trucks and cars. I think its an interesting way of making money. and then sell the used cars at a lower price. Think of it as an alternative for leasing a car.

Toyota has a rental car business at many dealers already. I don't know if they rent trucks, but I know I can get a tC, xB, Camry, Corolla/Matrix or a Rav4 if I rented one here.

There may be a 58 day supply of Toyotas, but I can all but guarantee that Chevy's supply is much higher. There's a dealer I pass almost every day heading to lunch. They've had the same prismatic blue-ish Avalanche since the end of 2006. I'm sure it's not the only one, but it's the one I remember due to it's color. They've been sitting so long, there's fairly heavy surface rust on the rotors. Chrysler's apparently even worse. The dealers are turning entire deliveries away, at least until corporate threatens action against them. There was an article on that several months back.

Money's tight, and it's hitting everyone's bottom line.

none of the dealerships here do that... they should.. haha