Australian buyers have voted with their wallets for the all-new Toyota GR Yaris, with the pint-sized performance hatch attracting 560 sales in just over 24 hours after the order books opened.
The second red-hot vehicle from the Japanese brand’s GR garage after the Toyota Supra sports car, the new Toyota GR Yaris is priced at $39,950 drive-away for the first 1000 units, representing a $10,000 price cut.
Orders opened at 12:30pm yesterday, September 23, and at the time of writing, just over 24 hours later, 560 owners had plonked down a $1000 deposit to reserve their vehicle.
In just 30 minutes Toyota had sold 250 vehicles online.
That means there are still examples with the sub-$40K special offer on the GR Yaris available.
Unlike the Toyota Supra, which sold out its first allocation of 300 vehicles in just 22 minutes, the Yaris nameplate doesn’t have the same sort of street cred.
The GR moniker is a huge drawcard, but it will still take time for Toyota to build credibility with the Yaris nameplate, which until now has been a frugal, budget-priced light hatch.
Considering this, and the fact that we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the initial response is incredibly strong.
Toyota Australia has essentially spent $10 million discounting this first batch of GR Yaris hot hatches to ensure the new model gets off to a strong start.
“This substantial local financial commitment for the first 1000 vehicles will advance our budding GR brand, accelerate the acceptance of GR Yaris on Australian roads and convert enthusiast customers into brand advocates,” said Toyota Australia sales and marketing chief, Sean Hanley.
“It is a smart local investment that will ignite the market with an attainable pure-bred sports car that would otherwise carry a recommended retail price of $49,500.”
The Toyota GR Yaris is powered by a Gazoo Racing-developed 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine (200kW/380Nm) pumping through a bespoke all-wheel drive system and a six-speed manual gearbox.
First deliveries will take place from November and together with the $10,000 price cut for the first 1000 vehicles, the first 50 GR Yaris vehicles pre-ordered online by myToyota members received a fuel promotion – 20c per litre off for 12 months at Caltex petrol stations.
The brand hasn’t guaranteed how much the Yaris GR will cost once the first 1000 vehicles have been sold. It could slide under quoted $49,500 – but it certainly won’t be $40K drive-away.
Toyota Australia already sells a number of vehicles online and is understood to be looking at expanding its online sales strategy.