Toyota exec says sales increased 50 percent from March 2009

[Bozita]

Source: AP

Toyota exec says sales increased 50 percent from March 2009
By The Associated Press
March 09, 2010, 7:01PM

A high-ranking Toyota executive says the automaker's North American sales spiked around 50 percent the first eight days of March as incentives helped lure customers after a series of embarrassing safety recalls.

Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operation for Toyota Motor Sales, says that the early numbers surpassed the company's expectations.

Esmond says there is pent-up demand from buyers who didn't shop for cars during last year's economic downturn. He also credits new sales incentives enacted this month, including 0 percent financing offers for eight Toyota models.

Earlier Tuesday, he addressed about 800 officials from Toyota supply companies attending an annual business meeting.

Read more: http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2010/03/toyota_exec_says_sales_increas.html

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Yes, I did think this came from "The Onion" at first.

[pundaint]

1. People like to drive fast.

[vadawg]

2. rofl, thats funny, but i think its time to buy another toyota now as well

mayby get the bad publicity discount as well....

[Zynx]

4. I generally don't believe in rewarding failure.

Even if you want to get a discount, you are essentially rewarding a company that proved it didn't give a damn about its customers.

[Sherman A1]

3. I got an email ad from my Toyota Dealership

and they have some big discounts & the 0% thing (which probably are not combinable). If I was in the market for a car, I would give it a look.

[dipsydoodle]

5. probably are not combinable

I kept getting this message : ERROR: Posting error

* Long subjects require periodic spaces

so I strung it out. :shrug:

Likely to be correct.

The actual interest paid to the fundor is actually what would otherwise have been the discount.

There was a deal some years back based on pay 50% now , of the full manufacturer's price ,and the 50% balance at the end of 2 years later. That was funded wordwide by a single American company and I worked out the real interest rate to be c. 17 % at that time.

[WriteDown]

6. The faithful will always return to the flock. nt

[Gold Metal Flake]

7. 3/09? Those are Cash For Clunkers sales.

CFC was just getting discussed in March of 09 and it was all over by fall with Toyota getting the largest share of the CFC-related sales. The real sales numbers will be those Dec. 09 onward as word of Toyota's problems started to get traction.

What I see here is bullshit. "...North American sales spiked around 50 percent the first eight days of March as incentives helped lure customers after a series of embarrassing safety recalls." Recall news in 3/09? No. They are compressing time to include the sales from 3/09 through 11/09 into 1/10-3/10. Last summer, during the CFC program and the $2000 incentive to clear new 2009 models from the lots and the several $500 incentives on the 2010 models there was no "embarrassing safety recall" news.

This is your corporate media at work.