Toyota Announces 0% Financing On 11 Models, Worst Sales Drop In 40 Years
Yesterday, Toyota announced that they will begin offering 0% financing on 11 vehicle models, a maneuver simply unheard of throughout company history. Described by mouthpieces as a strategic marketing move intended to capitalize on Detroit’s credit crunch, Toyota hopes the 0% offer will help slow the bleeding their sales have been experiencing.
Prior to the announcement of the new incentive, Toyota appeared to be staying afloat in the tumultuous industry waters, thanks in no small part to its increasingly popular hybrid offering, the Toyota Prius. In September, however, the market apparently caught up, leaving Toyota with a record 32% drop in sales - a percentage that exceeded the industry average by a considerable margin.
“Needless to say, it’s quite obvious dealer traffic is decreasing,” Toyota spokesman Hideki Homma told reporters, explaining the new buyer incentive program, “We needed to promptly do something.” Scheduled to run through November 3rd, the 0% interest rate will only be applied to loans covering a few select Toyota models, including the Matrix, Corolla, Camry, RAV4, Highlander, FJ Cruiser, 4Runner, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma, and Tundra.
[News Source: AutoNews.com]
If you look across the industry, aprs for most bigger cars are at 0% for at least 36 months. It doesn’t seem to be manufacturer specific so much as make/model specific
Words by vlane.com on October 3, 2008 at 8:15 pm | #