Toyota Australia says it will not necessarily put any policies in place to stop dealers or dissuade customers from on-selling low-mileage and supply-restricted LandCruiser 300 Series’ at markups.
However, it says it has every confidence its dealers will be ethical, insisting it’s not in any franchisee’s interest to move on a demonstrator model at a markup considering how tight stock will be at launch.
It’s a looming (potential) issue for Toyota considering the crazy pricing we’re seeing on 200 Series LandCruisers and other vehicles of this type.
As reported extensively here, Toyota Australia is battling a perfect storm of factory shutdowns due to COVID, the worldwide semiconductor shortages biting, and a spike in buyer demand that’s the highest it’s been in 13 years.
This demand is particularly enormous for diesel four-wheel drives that tow, considering people are planning regional getaways in lieu of overseas travel.
Toyota Australia clarified today that production of right-hand drive LandCruiser 300s was expected to get back underway in November, meaning small numbers should start trickling into dealers from December.
Toyota will also feed 500 demonstrator units of the LandCruiser 300 into its national dealer network to get punters behind the wheel. But with north of 10,000 “expressions of interest” logged from customers before launch, supply will be woefully tight early on.
Toyota Australia vice-president Sean Hanley spoke with auto media this week about the wider stock issues, and commented on the issue of LC300 pricing markups.
“Look our position with the dealer demonstrators is, we do have a policy around dealer demonstrators and retention periods. That’s normal. Our demonstrator policy is very clear and that is for their use to demonstrate cars.
“But the other motivation for all of us… I’m not sure when I can replace those 500 cars. So it’s not in their best interest to sell them…
“In terms of selling practises our dealer network is very responsible, I believe very ethical through the standards that we set.
“We have a recommended retail price on the car… [but] our dealers are free to trade accordingly based on the market conditions.”
This latter quote is worth noting down.
When asked if the company would encourage its customers who do take delivery from on-selling their car at a markup, Mr Hanley said the answer was no.
“We have no agreement or otherwise for private customers around on-selling of cars in Australia,” he finished.
CarExpert’s stance
Let’s be real: expect LandCruiser 300s in the private used market to be sold above RRP with low mileage as long as demand exceeds supply…
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