Toyota hopes Tundra incentives will nab new customers
We reported in March that Toyota was offering incentives on its 2006 Toyota Tundra to prevent potential customers from holding out for the much bigger 2007 model due next January. Apparently that was half the story.
According to the Detroit News, Toyota is not content being a distant fourth in truck sales after the Detroit Big Three. The world's second largest automaker is especially interested in Ford buyers: the Blue Oval sold more pickups in Texas alone than Toyota sold in the entire nation. Toyota's current incentives are a strategy to lure once-brand loyal consumers from the competition.
And it may be working. While sales of the current Tundra are lower than last year, the reason may be due more to lower inventory than lack of interest.
The average American consumer in the market for a truck, however, is likely not so easily swayed by price. We expect many truck buyers have brand loyalty that runs deeper than their wallets.
[Source: Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Bocephus 2:35PM (5/04/2006)
There is honestly very little that I like about Toyota.
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hj 2:35PM (5/04/2006)
Gez talk about a F-150 clone. Why does toyota have to copy everyone elses designs? New Camry they clone the mazda 6 and they've been copying ford since the T-100! God the T-100, they even copied the name. Comon toyota learn to be original like you did with your compact pickups.
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CANADIAN MADE 2:53PM (5/04/2006)
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! Having an order of 15 new F-150's outside just outside my window today, there's no denying the resemblance. But please, Please, PLEASE do not tell me they've copied their build quality, the F-150 is the fleet mechanics nightmare! Although with the recent hits Toyota has been taking for reliability issues maybe they are imitating them too much.
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mike 2:53PM (5/04/2006)
Toyota Tundra would piss all over itself next to a Silverado or F150. Toyota keep you incentives. No real truck buyer will ever buy a Tundra....maybe Paris Hilton might want one. Ha-Ha
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tp 2:57PM (5/04/2006)
Toyota is going to have to do a lot more than offer incentives. Aside from swaying people away from brand loyalty, their dealerships are going to have to stop acting like complete assholes. On the day I bought my F-150, I went to the Toyota dealer first planning on bringing home a new Taco. I did not even talk to the salesman about buying a truck, but he was so rude to me in the first minute of conversation, I figured my money could be better spent. In the end, brand loyalty had a lot to do with my purchase of a Ford, but if the 'Yota salesman had been halfway decent, I would be in a Tacoma right now.
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DarkKnight67 2:58PM (5/04/2006)
Real truck buyers don't buy a truck based on incentives. They buy based on experience -- thus, the loyalists for GM, Ford and Dodge would never be caught in a Toyota or Nissan no matter how great the deal. You could slap $10,000 on the hood of a Tundra and most people wouldn't buy it - only those looking for a cheap alternative.
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storm 3:06PM (5/04/2006)
==Re: Post # 6. Real truck buyers don't buy a truck based on incentives. They buy based on experience -- thus, the loyalists for GM, Ford and Dodge would never be caught in a Toyota or Nissan no matter how great the deal.==
Since loyalists have had little option to buy anything other then a Ford, GM or Dodge full-size truck, it is too early to say how "loyal" these buyers are. If the dominance of Nissan and Toyota in compact trucks is any indication, brand loyalty can change quite quickly.
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Sean 3:09PM (5/04/2006)
Loyalists is the key. I remeber when the Titan was introuduced my father was in the market to trade in his Expedition and I tryed to talk him into the Titan. He would not even look at the truck on the internet. He said that he has had Ford trucks forever and will always purchase Ford trucks. He has even had issues with his 05 F150 and does not care because he will just go and get another one. That is loyalty that Toyota can only dream of.
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JT 3:10PM (5/04/2006)
Toyota should just stick to selling there Grandma Camry's. No one who needs a truck, to be a truck will buy a Toyota. They can make it look anyway they want but Ford/GM/Dodge are the only ones worth buying!
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Marc 3:23PM (5/04/2006)
How loyal were the Taurus/ Celebrity/ Lumina/ Escort/ Cavalier buyers. It was not so long ago that Camrys, Accords, Civics and Corollas were small, underpowered "alternatives" to the domestic sedans. Now they dominate. Do you really delude yourselves into believing that the Japanese cannot do this in trucks as well??!!
And it doesnt look anything like a F-150. Toyota has been using that shaped grill for years on its trucks.
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hj 3:27PM (5/04/2006)
#7 Dominance in the compact truck market? The ford ranger has dominated the compact truck market for years!!!
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Lithous 3:50PM (5/04/2006)
Two great examples here.
1. Toyota and incentives mentioned and no one is cursing (like they do with GM and Ford with incentives). What's the difference between doing it with 1 or 50 vehicles? Apparently this is how Toyota deems it when they are behind on sales of something.
2. Another Toyota has sales down on a vehicle, it must be because of low production (and not because they are to blame in anyway).
Same thing over and over again. Toyota gets the free pass with failure.
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Dave 3:52PM (5/04/2006)
I've read over several of your comments. Let's be honest here. Ford, GM, and Dodge all make great trucks. Sure sometimes they may have reliability issues, but thats true for any make or model, foreign or domestic. I wouldn't buy a truck from Nissan or Toyota as their styling doesn't excite me. However it seems any one of you don't know much about automotive history. Yes I realize the F-150 has been the leader in sales for over two decades.
That doesn't give you the right to discredit Toyota for making a decent truck. They have made excellent work vehciles such as Land Cruisers (starting in the 70's). If you ever watch the news you'll notice their vehicles and Nissan Patrols are some of the top UN vehicles. Vehicles that need to be sent to remote locations in various conditions. To say these manufactures have no past in making hard working durable products is ridiculous.
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Onell 3:59PM (5/04/2006)
Toyota is only good in small car. Do not dare anymore to be a fullsize SUV & P/U trucks leader. Already late in V8.
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PJ 4:02PM (5/04/2006)
The Ford Ranger still does susprisingly well in sales, but in terms of capability, cab space, powertrains, and feature content, it hardly "dominates the market."
The Ford feels ancient next to a Frontier or Tacoma--which makes sense, because it hasn't received more than a mid-cycle refresh since the early 1990s. So while brand loyalty is keeping this truck alive for now, it has no future (or, at least, it won't be a viable product for long without a total redesign).
I'll never understand the fierce loyalty to brand names in the full-size pickup segment, or how Toyota is somehow by nature a "sissy" brand. You don't see these reactions in car segments as often, probably because there's more choice. That said, I do find the current Tundra pretty overrated in terms of the interior and the driving experience.
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JH 4:25PM (5/04/2006)
I can understand if you prefer a Ford or GM truck, but what I can't understand is the perception that it would be impossible for Toyota to EVER come up with something better. I don't see how building a better truck could be out of the reach of any manufacturer. Trucks are a lot simpler than a Lexus, so I imagine Toyota would be up to the task.
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storm 4:28PM (5/04/2006)
===Re: Post #10. Dominance in the compact truck market? The ford ranger has dominated the compact truck market for years!!!===
You are living in the past. The Tacoma fall outsells the Ranger. In 2005, Toyota sold 169,000 Tacos while Ford sold 121,000 Rangers. This year, Taco sales continue to increase while Ranger sales continue dropping rapidly with no modern replacement in sight.
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hj 4:53PM (5/04/2006)
The Tacoma and Frontier are horrible compact pickups (well they're not even compact pickups, they copied dodge and went midsize) when it comes down to what you use a pickup for. The only real compact truck left is the Ranger.
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afjlasdjflaksdjf 5:00PM (5/04/2006)
What I don't get about toyota trucks are those thoothpick thin rear axles they use in the Tundra. Why do they think they're kidding!? That POS could never handle the abuse that Silverado could endure.
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storm 5:01PM (5/04/2006)
===Re: Post #17. The Tacoma and Frontier are horrible compact pickups (well they're not even compact pickups, they copied dodge and went midsize) when it comes down to what you use a pickup for. The only real compact truck left is the Ranger.===
True. They are so horrible they far outsell the old Ranger. Meanwhile the smaller Canyon/Colorado twins far outsell the Ranger too.
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