I was told be the dealer today that Toyota will be limiting the number of v and other Japanese made models because they can not make enough profit on them due to the Yen-dollar relationship. Does this sound realistic or just dealer talk?
Dealer talk is my guess on the V model, since Toyota just raised the price of the V this past weekend.
Hoddy - "Dealer Talk" until proven otherwise. Some dealers and sales people might try to use that as a "Quick, you better buy one (at premium prices) before they will become scarce." If the Yen vs. U$D exchange rate is a problem, all Toyota has to do is stick with their prices as long as the v's and other Made In Japan models keep selling as they have been with gas at $4+ a gallon and rising. It is the U.S. car buying customer who has the exchange rate problem, not Toyota.
I agree that it's dealer talk but yes, there's were some small Prius v price increases recently (Toyota increases Prius V price by $150). I disagree w/the last statement. The exchange rate problem IS a problem for Toyota and Japanese automakers. See http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/99827-prius-price-increase-coming-2.html and http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...normal-we-won-t-live-much-longer-deviant.html, for example. Japanese automakers can only counter this by shifting more production outside Japan (none of the Prius family is made anywhere in North America), tolerate it, raise prices (might make vehicles unattractive and out of reach, reducing sales) or decontent/skimp on content (features, materials, etc.). At least the exchange rate has gotten a little more favorable for the Japanese recently. It's now ~83 yen to a dollar instead 78. However, back at the beginning of 08, it was ~110 yen to a dollar.
