Toyota Closes '97 Model Year With Short Supply of Vehicles
1 October 1997
Toyota Closes '97 Model Year With Short Supply of Vehicles
TORRANCE, Calif., Oct. 1 -- Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A.,
Inc., today announced solid year-to-date sales of 932,302 units, an increase
of 5.7 percent over the previous year. Due to short inventories, total
vehicle sales for the month of September were down 14.1 percent at 76,130
units.
"We mark the close of the third quarter and the end of the '97 model year
with the best-selling car in America ... Camry," said Yale Gieszl, TMS
executive vice president. "Sustained job growth and strong consumer
confidence signal a strong fourth quarter, as we refill our gas tanks for the
launch of the '98 model year."
Gieszl noted that sustained demand for Toyota and Lexus products forced
Toyota to end the model year with an extremely low days supply of vehicles, a
situation he expects will improve as the company launches its new '98 models.
Toyota's sport-utility vehicle sales showed the strongest increases, with
4Runner and RAV4 establishing new sales records for the month of September.
The rugged 4Runner recorded sales of 9,501, up 67.6 percent over last year,
with year-to-date sales up 34.3 percent at 97,468 units. RAV4 sales for
September reached 4,627 units, up 3.0 percent, with year-to-date sales of
51,265, up 24.8 percent.
Challenged by model year production transitions and low availability,
Toyota's passenger car sales held steady at 42,282 units. Although Camry
sales of 25,540 were down 7.6 percent, Toyota's volume leader is up more than
10.0 percent for the year at 301,346 units. Corolla, with year-to-date sales
of 171,792 units, is running 6.7 percent ahead of last year.
The ES 300 led the Lexus Division with sales of 3,568 units, up 28.1
percent. The SC 300 luxury sport coupe also had a strong showing with sales
up 2.1 percent over the same period last year. The Lexus Division finished
the month with sales of 6,065, up 4.4 percent and was up 21.4 percent at
70,741 on a year-to-date basis.
On a year-to-date basis, North American-produced vehicles represent
61.7 percent of sales, up 1.5 percentage points from the previous year. There
were 25 selling days during this period, versus 24 the previous year.
TOYOTA/LEXUS SALES
SEPTEMBER, 1997
-- CURRENT MONTH -- -- CALENDAR YEAR TO DATE --
DSR % DSR%
1997 1996 CHG 1997 1996 CHG
TOTAL VEHICLE SALES 76,130 85,091 -14.1 932,302 885,512 5.7
Memo: Total Toyota Div. 70,065 79,512 -15.4 861,561 826,993 4.6
Memo: Total Lexus Div. 6,065 5,579 4.4 70,741 58,519 21.4
TOYOTA DIV. IMPORT CAR 7,839 13,001 -42.1 100,003 133,549 -24.8
LEXUS IMPORT CAR 5,600 5,179 3.8 64,812 53,066 22.7
TOYOTA DIV NA BUILT CARS 34,443 38,420 -13.9 468,231 423,827 11.0
TOTAL TOYOTA CARS 47,882 56,600 -18.8 633,046 610,442 4.2
SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES 15,517 11,159 33.5 163,656 129,087 27.3
Memo: Lexus Sport Utility 465 400 11.6 5,929 5,453 9.2
SMALL VANS 135 596 -78.3 3,634 6,864 -46.8
PICKUPS 12,596 16,736 -27.7 131,966 139,119 -4.7
* NORTH AMERICAN BUILT VEHICLES
COROLLA 11,884 13,751 -17.0 170,792 155,622 10.2
CAMRY 19,491 18,620 0.5 244,561 213,059 15.3
AVALON 3,068 6,049 -51.3 52,878 55,146 -3.7
PICKUP 10,788 13,530 -23.5 107,240 109,682 -1.8
TOTAL 45,231 51,950 -16.4 575,471 533,509 8.3
N.A. VEHICLES % OF TOTAL 59.4% 61.1% 61.7% 60.2%
SELLING DAYS 25 24 230 231
DSR = DAILY SELLING RATE
SOURCE Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A.
