Toyota has joined Subaru and now Mazda in the rush to lower prices prior to the official implementation of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Australia and Japan on January 15.
The importer – Australia's most popular brand for the 12th consecutive year, based on VFACTS (sales) figures for 2014 released today – doesn't expect any fallout from the customers who have bought new Toyotas at former, duty-included prices. According to Toyota Australia's Executive Director for Sales and Marketing, Tony Cramb, most of Toyota's customers typically negotiate a transaction price that's better than the list price anyway.
"The actual price that people have paid for cars, in many cases, is significantly lower than the amount of reduction from the FTA," Cramb told motoring.com.au this morning.
The Toyota boss made the further observation that the market had been highly competitive during the final two months of 2014. But even with that, Toyota had been left "wondering" whether there was a buyers' strike during November, with buyers anticipating lower prices from 2015 with the new, post-FTA regime in place.
"What we were finding, on the showroom floor, was that people were using that [looming implementation of the FTA] in their discussions [to negotiate a keen transaction price]," Cramb explained.
Some Toyota models, such as the US-sourced Kluger, Thai-sourced HiLux and home-grown Camry and Aurion are not subject to the FTA with Japan and therefore the prices remain unchanged.
Mazda has also moved to lower purchase prices for its new vehicles, effective from January 1st, 2015. The price cuts range between $268 and $963 depending on the model, although Mazda is not providing specifics on which models get the almost $1000 cuts at present.
It is expected other mainstream Japanese car importers, such as Nissan, Mitsubishi and Honda, will also look at price cuts in the near future as the effects of the FTA kick in. All three were contacted by motoring.com.au for comment but only Nissan responded. It said the ramifications of the Japanese FTA was "still under review".
As a guide, prices for the entry-level variants in the Toyota model range are as follows (previous 2014 prices in brackets):
Toyota Yaris hatch
Ascent manual – $14,990 ($15,690)
Ascent auto – $16,490 ($17,290)
Toyota Corolla hatch
Ascent manual – $19,490 ($19,990)
Ascent auto – $21,490 ($22,240)
Toyota RAV4
GX manual – $27,490 ($28,730)
GX auto – $29,990 ($31,230)
Toyota Camry
Altise auto – $30,490 (prices unchanged)
Toyota Aurion
AT-X auto – $36,490 (prices unchanged)
Toyota HiLux 4x2
Single cab chassis petrol manual – $18,990 (prices unchanged)
Toyota HiLux 4x4
Double cab pick up turbo-diesel manual – $42,490 (prices unchanged)
Toyota Kluger
GX 2WD auto – $40,990 (prices unchanged)
Toyota LandCruiser
GX auto – $73,990 ($78,165)
Toyota LandCruiser Prado
GX manual – $51,990 ($55,990)
Toyota FJ Cruiser
Base auto – $46,990 ($47,990)
Toyota Rukus
Base auto – $26,990 ($27,990)
Toyota 86
GT manual – $29,990 (prices unchanged)
Toyota Prius C
Base auto – $23,990 (prices unchanged)
Toyota Prius
Base auto – $32,490 ($33,990)
Toyota Prius V
Base auto – $34,490 ($35,990)
Toyota HiAce
LWB manual – $32,990 (prices unchanged)