Toyota to raise US prices to stave off pontential "japan bashing"

[IMPALAon20s]

source

Toyota to up prices in U.S. this October

06/11/2005

The Asahi Shimbun

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to raise the prices on most of its U.S. models in October to help its struggling rivals in Detroit and to prevent trade friction from erupting, sources said.

The price hikes are expected to average 2-3 percent.

The Toyota Camry, the best-selling midsize sedan in the United States, will cost several hundred dollars more than its current price of around $20,000 (2.2 million yen).

Toyota has no immediate plans to significantly revise prices in Japan.

In the United States, Toyota plans to reduce incentives and increase wholesale prices, which will force dealerships to make up the difference with bigger price tags.

In 2004, Toyota sold 2.29 million vehicles in North America, an increase of 10.6 percent from the previous year.

The fortunes of U.S. automakers went the other way, however. General Motors Corp. this week announced it would cut 25,000 jobs by 2008. It also plans to raise vehicle prices.

Concerned that Toyota's success in the United States could be viewed as coming at the expense of U.S. automakers, Toyota Chairman Hiroshi Okuda has repeatedly said Toyota would need to adjust prices.

Okuda also wants to stave off any potential trade friction that could lead to the "Japan bashing" seen in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s. In the U.S. auto industry, vehicle prices usually change when a new model year begins. Toyota has raised prices due mainly to foreign exchange fluctuations or when equipment is added to new models.(IHT/Asahi: June 11,2005)

[logansowner]

Oh the Japan bashing wont stop with this, nobody likes short shifty eyed people who can make better cars than people who have done it for over 100 years.


And did I mention that raising the price to help another company sounds just a LITTLE bit like bullchit?.......

[95MonteCarlo]

This is a humiliating day for American industry. I hope everyone who sees this knows how insulting its meant to be. I almost have no words to describe this. Almost.

I never thought that I would see the day when a foreign corporation and not our government thought that the only way to help a competitor was to make their products more expensive. This is unwanted, and it could lead to even futher damage to the reputation of General Motors. Not to mention that it means more profit for Toyota. They don't give a hoot in hell about "backlash". They make money hand over fist selling their stuff, and now they will only make more. I am so angry right now! GM saw this comming. They had to see this comming 5 or 6 years ago! This is repugnant to me as an American. This is a deliberate insult to GM, and all Americans! They don't need to increase prices to help GM. Thats bullsh**!

Toyota is doing this to twist the knife. If you know anyone or talk to anyone who is in the search for a new car, even if you have to tie them up, don't let them anywhere near a Toyota dealer! Folks I think the time has come to organize a boycot of all Toyota products in the U.S. ALL OF THEM! This has got to be the last straw. We cant sit back anymore and do nothing! If this doesn't make everyone on this board mad as hell I don't think anything will!

[awalbert88]

The only thing more insulting than the way they pretend this is meant to help the domestic companies is that the media is actually buying into the bullsh!t. Any media outlet that goes along with that notion deserves to have their head crushed.

[awalbert88]

Originally Posted by 95MonteCarlo

Toyota is doing this to twist the knife. If you know anyone or talk to anyone who is in the search for a new car, even if you have to tie them up, don't let them anywhere near a Toyota dealer! Folks I think the time has come to organize a boycot of all Toyota products in the U.S. ALL OF THEM! This has got to be the last straw. We cant sit back anymore and do nothing! If this doesn't make everyone on this board mad as hell I don't think anything will!

No. Let them go to the Toyota dealer, but go with them. Be prepared to refute the crap that the salesman tries to pitch in regards to quality. Then take them to the Chevrolet dealer, the Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealer, the Ford dealer, the Lincoln-Mercury dealer, and the Saturn dealer. They will realize that Toyota isn't the end-all be-all of automotive creation.

Boycotting Toyota won't help. You have to show these folks the cold hard facts about quality and reliability. Only then will perception change to match reality.

[LazyGeneral]

I agree with what I think is the general sentiment on this board. This has nothing to do with GM, it's simply a way to raise Toyota's price (which was going to happen anyway) and its profits in a way that looks good for Toyota and bad for it's #1 compeditor. It's a combination of Japanese arrogence and marketing.

I've heard some people say that Japanese business people aren't arrogant but that's BS. Look at video games. Sony is starting to slip against Microsoft and (in my opinion) has steadily been producing games that don't meet the same quality as Microsoft (I'm talking the big in house titles: Forza v. Gran Tourismo, Halo 2 v. Killzone, and forget about how pathetic Sony has been online to this point). They must see that the next generation will be even more compeditive.

So, what has been Sony's position? To completely dis XBox 360 as no more than "XBox 1.5" every chance they get. They speak of it in terms like American's are so stupid to even consider XBox 360 to be a compeditor for their system (which, by the way, is made of mostly American technology) which has clearly been sent down by God to recreate home entertainment (which is the BS they peddled with PS2 as well).

And what happens: You bet ya, the mainstream media eat it up and repeat again and again how PS3 is more powerful than XBox 360 and Sony is expected to continue to control, if weaker, the US video game market. In Japan, they can't even conceive of Microsoft selling more than a few systems (the real reason being racisim if you ask me but the media avoid saying that).

Now, Toyota isn't quite as rediculous as Sony in its statements, but speaks with that same subtle arrogance and carefullly select statements that are intended to make themselves look good while their competition looks pathetic. My only question: Why the hell won't US industry speak up for itself and kick these guys in the ass? Maybe GM's a bit gunshy now, but what's Microsoft's excuse?

If it makes everyone feel better, Japan is already the nation of yesteryear (they have a shrinking/aging population that will destroy their economy) but whatch out for China.

[Boost]

What has Sony to do with GM Toyota, you dumbass it was Microsoft that bosted their Xbox so much more powerfull the PS2 now its Sony and I cant wait for them to kick the crap out of MS again!

[asim]

This is not the help detriot, this is to prevent trade friction. Anyhow a few hundred dollars isn't going to make much of a difference from now. People will just pay a little bit more for the toyota.

[atomicshark]

Originally Posted by asim

This is not the help detriot, this is to prevent trade friction. Anyhow a few hundred dollars isn't going to make much of a difference from now. People will just pay a little bit more for the toyota.

Yup, and make Toyota's wallets fatter.

[member12]

I should not take this to create anti-japanese car sentiments in the United States (at least anti-toyota).

What exactly do you think Scion is?

Those cars sell at a government mandated floor in japan, allowing them to dump them on America for 13000 a piece.

If they were an american company, they would be broken up, but in Japan, the government supports monopolies.

I think that if you want to compete in a basic industry in America (a basic industry= and industry easily converted into weapons manufacturing in a time of war) you should have to play by our rules, our health care, and our **************** unions.

[plane]

I wonder what Rick's visit to Okuda's house had to do with this if anything? Let's face it, this has been going on for years. Twenty years ago GM was painted as a target. I recall reading about the Japanese line workers that were interviewed and subtly, arrogantly indicated that they would win, they would destroy our auto industry. For the life of me, I cannot understand why people buy imports? Hmmm, I hate you, I will destroy your auto industry, but please buy a really nice car from me? Your country can go to h$%^, but please buy a really nice car from me? It's time for America to wake up, come together, and start fighting back. It's our future at stake and we need to start now. The quality is there. The reliability is there. The safety is there. We just need to make it happen.

[Butz]

**************** toyota, **************** japan, I hope the new prices can be seen as a trun off and lower their sales.. I hope!!

but it is still an insult and a shame to see such thing happening..

I've heard some people say that Japanese business people aren't arrogant but that's BS. Look at video games. Sony is starting to slip against Microsoft and (in my opinion) has steadily been producing games that don't meet the same quality as Microsoft (I'm talking the big in house titles: Forza v. Gran Tourismo, Halo 2 v. Killzone, and forget about how pathetic Sony has been online to this point). They must see that the next generation will be even more compeditive.

they overpromised with the PS2 and underdelivered and they are doing the same with PS3, all the talk about a SuperComputer and in the end the XBOX360 has more speed and computing power than the PS3..

USA>Japan..

[ChevyLaxMan]

Originally Posted by Boost

What has Sony to do with GM Toyota, you dumbass it was Microsoft that bosted their Xbox so much more powerfull the PS2 now its Sony and I cant wait for them to kick the crap out of MS again!

Go play an XBOX and PS2 back to back and tell me which is better. The only advantage sony has is there head start in the # of games. "MS" has created so many halo fiends its rediculous. Try and tell them Sony is superior.

[Butz]

Originally Posted by ChevyLaxMan

Go play an XBOX and PS2 back to back and tell me which is better. The only advantage sony has is there head start in the # of games. "MS" has created so many halo fiends its rediculous. Try and tell them Sony is superior.

agree and support..

[geo924]

[/quote]OSAKA, Japan -- The outspoken chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. said on Wednesday he feared the possibility that U.S. policy could turn against Japanese auto makers if local giants such as GM and Ford were to collapse.

"Many people say the car industry wouldn't revisit the kind of trade friction we saw in the past because Japanese auto makers are increasing local production in the United States, but I don't think it's that simple," Hiroshi Okuda told a news conference.

"General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are symbols of U.S. industry, and if they were to crumble it could fan nationalistic sentiment. I always have a fear that that in turn could manifest itself in policy decisions," he said, speaking as the head of the nation's biggest business lobby, the Japan Business Federation.

Okuda, who as chairman is removed from the auto maker's day-to-day operations, raised eyebrows and invited criticism on both sides of the Pacific when he said two months ago that Toyota should think about ways in which it could aid U.S. auto makers -- such as by raising product prices -- as they reel under massive health-care costs and sliding sales.[quote]

I find it humorous that Okuda is worried about fanning nationalistic sentiment in the U.S. considering that's exactly how Japan operates. The Japanese, in general, only buy Japanese because of nationalistic sentiment. It's very difficult to sell an American made anything there. The government makes it tough after imposing high tarriffs and extraordinary inspections.