Featured Toyota bZ4X Specifications Revealed

amazing. are they selling used cars?

 

I don't know. That's how I learned from the megadealers that they're only getting about 15-20 cars from Toyota in the month of May. The guy was nice and honest. He just said, "Look, we have tens of thousands of customers and we're only getting 15 cars next month. No RAV4 Primes and 2 Siennas, but only a Limited and an XLE."

 

You're looking for both of those, like one of each, or just one or the other?

 

First the numbers for bz4x will be very small as they are for the rav4 prime. Rav4 prime only shipped a little over 5000 for the whole country in q1.

Toyota USA sales were down around 15% versus 2021 in the first 3 months
Toyota Motor North America Reports March, First Quarter 2022 US Sales - Toyota USA Newsroom
Toyota expects that production will increase as supply chain problems lessen and volume will exceed 2021 for the rest of the year. They predict that sales will be 2.35 million in the US versus 2.33 million in 2021. I have no idea if they will fall short or exceed.

 

Both

 

That's why my earlier post. I suspect that's what they're saying to keep their stock from tanking, but I don't think they'll even come close ... and they know it.

March was worse than the Q1 overall (down 26.3% vs. 15.8%), which suggests things are getting worse for Toyota, not better.

The numbers don't add up. Toyota keeps claiming production cuts of 10% here and 17% there, but their sales numbers show reductions on many models over 40%:

• Corolla down 47%
• Supra down 49%
• Avalon down 67%
• Prius down 49%
• Sequoia down 93%
• Land Cruiser down 98%
• Sienna down 44%

If they were only down ~20% there would be a huge glut of those models due to low sales.

 

I doubt they are cutting the US market by that much, and you can't use local stocks to make a judgement. The dealer I got my Prius from is not a big one, has 61 new cars listed on their site.

The Rav4 Prime was only going to be available in limited numbers before the problems in supply chains came up. Toyota didn't line up enough batteries for demand. The ones for America have to cross a border from Canada, which could be reason for delays; the hybrid is assembled in Kentucky. Toyota also needs to ship some to other states with ZEV programs.

There are many possible reasons why your local dealers aren't getting more cars that have nothing to do with Toyota's decision to reduce production.

 

Try going to the dealership. If they're operating the way dealerships around here are operating you will find their web site shows many cars in stock, but on the ground they have nothing. The large dealership I was talking about shows 16 Siennas in stock right now. When you go to the dealership and say "Hey, I want to buy one of those" they miraculously disappear - even when you give them the specific VIN. You'll get something like "Oh, we just sold that one." Unless it's parked offsite, they aren't lying either. Walk the lot and they're not there.

I'm not one to believe in coincidences, and since this has never before happened in the history of Toyota NA and it just so happens to coincide with their reduced production. Absent other direct evidence of something else I'm gonna stick with that.

As a side note, with two of the largest ports in North America right in Los Angeles, why on earth would they deliver US-bound cars to a foreign country? Are they trying to play NAFTA games?

 

supply and demand?

supply is really low demand is really high
especially in cali presently. At least from what I've read here the last few months.
and it appears even worse for the two high volume dealers you're referencing..

Coincidence ?

Something unusual is going on behind the scenes it appears.

 

Yup it’s been tough the last year but a couple of our local dealers have listed vehicles with a slight wrinkle. When they list vehicles for sale, for the longest time they had listed something like, 2 on the lot and 65 in transit. It’s improved a little to 23 on the lot and 54 in transit. Some of the other local dealers don’t list vehicles in transit. Now 23 is a lot for a dealer to have on the lot lately.


iPad ? Pro

 

For the cars with crazy demand, like the RAV4 Prime, I know of dealership employees (and even the manager of one) who are buying them as they come in and then privately selling them with a huge markup.

 

And even when they're selling them for MSRP I believe they're still eligible for the tax credits and the buyer isn't, so that's still a pretty hefty profit.

 

I'll be driving by it tomorrow.

Toyota is dealing with a lot things they haven't dealt with before. If Toyota's production cut was really at 90% than the 20% they are saying, there would be a lot more news about it. It would be difficult to hide how little cars would be rolling out of factories.

Aren't those ports dealing with major back ups, or have they cleared those out?

 

Our Prime was delivered to a different Dealer in our area than the Dealer we got the car from. Not quite the same thing, but strange, at least to me when I found it in the paperwork.

 

They're still thinning out the port waters. It's just as likely a primary factor of cars getting sent to other countries.

 

Don't ships carrying cars mostly have dedicated ports since they are not in containers but driven on and off the ships?

Mike

 

Yup, pretty much. They have to be able to handle ro-ro (roll on, roll off) shipping. Some of the bigger ports:

Port of Long Beach
Port of New York and New Jersey
Port of Savannah
Port of Seattle and Tacoma
Port of Virginia
Port of Houston
Port of Charleston, and
Port of Miami
Port of Jacksonville


iPad ? Pro

 

Not Corpus Christi?
.

 

Well, that local dealer did have a really sparse looking lot. But we have data sources besides anecdotal reports of local dealers.

Global sales for Toyota for Febuary 2020 was 733,305. In 2021 it was 787,796, and 774,860 for this year.
Sales, Production, and Export Results | Profile | Company | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website
Now those figures precede the latest announcement of lowered production, and the inventory on hand will delay the impact of any reduction from being seen.

For something like a 90% reduction to have happened, and for it to have an impact now, there would be reports of factory workers no longer going to work, or reports of cars not coming out of the factory.