Autoblog

Toyota is selling a heap more Tundra trucks this year than it did last year. It's simply not selling enough -- maybe -- to reach its goal of selling 200,000 units this year, the first year the all-new bigger and badder Tundra has been on sale. As of the end of November, the big T had rolled 177,336 Tundras off dealer lots (no mention of whether or not any of those included the old model), which represents a 58.3-percent jump in sales over last year's numbers.

But the segment overall has taken an 8-percent plunge in the tide of recent economic developments, and November Tundra sales were down almost 17-percent from October: 14,988, compared to October's 17,868. For Toyota to reach its goal, it has to move more than 22,000 Tundras in December. This means it has to post a sales increase of more than 50% in a market looking more and more like... a barren tundra. If it's really serious about making that goal, some of you out there should be licking your chops: there's money on the hoods.

Bob Carter, Toyota Division general manager said, "We use incentives tactically to offer reasons to buy Toyotas at certain times of the month." You know the reason, and this is the month. Current model year 2007 Tundras get interest-free financing for five years, while 2008 models will get interest-free financing for three. Come 'n' git it.

[Source: Auto News]

At the risk of piling on, we bring you more news from the Toyota Tundra camp. Earlier this month Toyota told dealers they would be allowed up to $1,500 in incentives on the base-model Tundra in an effort to take some market share from the Big 2.5. Now, ToMoCo is offering Toyota, Lexus, Scion and Hino Motors Ltd. truck dealers $2,000 toward the purchase of a B-cab Tundra.

In the past, dealers had to go through "channels" to acquire such vehicles, but in addition to the cash, the new program is apparently intended to allow dealers to skip some of the red tape.

Should it be necessary to offer incentives to your dealers to buy the very product you're trying to sell? With more than 1,200 dealers, sales numbers wouldn't spike all that much, actually. But the image boost of all those shiny new Tundras would surely be a plus. Maybe Toyota should also consider offering special incentives to the behind-the-scenes crews of its commercials and, what the heck, those NHTSA workers too. Couldn't hurt.

[Source: AP via Forbes.com]