Comments on: Toyota’s Australian operations safe – for now

By: Andrew M

Andrew M — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:22:45 +0000

Nix,
i read that fleets were a bit upset because holden made a decision not to discount their fleet pricing as much, and hence some were swinging to toyota

I think it was an article on Drive. Im not too good going through archives etc, but when i get bored ill see if i can dig it up.

so you agree with my point in toyota increasing their range, and holden (and more so ford) decreased their range..
you said the same thing in a different way.

and a third reason is that toyota has stayed true to its name plates.
the well known names of Pulsar, Laser etc were killed off leaving the rolla as the only real familiar name in the segment.
Viva??? most people shopping in that class would say whats a Viva

By: Wheelnut

Wheelnut — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:29:41 +0000

I also mentioned the fact that the VE Ute is marketed more as a Lifestyle Vehicle instead of a Serious Workhorse like the Falcon.

Or what about the fact that Holden no longer have a Serious Full Size 4×4 to compete against the landcruiser prado which is a popular choice in the primary industry.. particularly mining

Holden don’t have a People Mover either [like the Tarago]which is another favourite with rental car companies
Nor do they have a Commercial Van like the Hiace or Transit and therefore are overlooked by Couriers etc

All of which buy their vehicles in bulk orders and thereby receive huge discounts.

Mind you given that these areas are where Toyota is well established there really is no point.

The only area where Holdens are attractive to Fleets is with the Commodore range which they sell mainly to Government Departments

By: nix

nix — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:04:18 +0000

Frontman, point taken re the hilux, tho that’s hardly a passenger vehicle. It owns that segment thoug.

By: nix

nix — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:01:17 +0000

No its not relevant, I was talking over a 10 year period, Andrew clearly stated that Toyota was aggressively chasing fleet sales whilst Holden was pulling back. Your only evidence of Holden pulling back is a station wagon with a smaller cargo bay which was released 3 months ago? Like I said, stop reading the propaganda

By: Frontman

Frontman — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:33:22 +0000

Sorry about the ramble above, it was meant to show that the dealers are supposed to follow what the manufacturers want.

Nix, It’s not so much that GM-H & FORD have turned away business, it more that they are not going after it a agressively. EG Hilux Vs Ranger, both built in same country, both competant reliable well proven (if you are brand Biased substitute BT/50 for Ranger) both equally as good vehicles. The 4 cyl petrol Hilux is $1800 more than the Diesel Ranger. Yet afetr Govco fleet discount applied the Hilux is 2k cheaper.. heavier fleet target and over pricing to Joe Public. Hence Ranger in small business and private capacity is outselling Hilux.

By: Frontman

Frontman — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:20:10 +0000

Dlr1, I agree that the packages are geared by the Dp’s etc. But they are also geared to maximise the direction the distributor want them to go.
In the case of a distributor chasing volume, your pay structures roll that way. I remember selling Mazda’s during the 90′s when the coined the phrase, “do the deal teh profit will follow”. At the standard $50 or 10% comms a lot of sales staff swapped to selling Hyundai’s (flat rate $80.00). Same franchise had Mitsu’s and we were making only 80% of target and had around a 30% pump in to our PMA by oterh dealers, got the standard performance letter several times which basically openly stated that because we were retaining twice the state average we were losing sales. Even had the state manager tell us to dicount heavier and sell more cars & we’d be better off?????

By: Wheelnut

Wheelnut — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:17:13 +0000

Quote [Nix]: So the wagon was released 3 months ago, that’s really relevant to the last 10 years.

It is relevant; because it shows that Holden are focussing less and less on fleet buyers; particularly as its the latest model to be released by Holden.

If Holden were looking to increase the percentage of fleet sales wouldn’t they have kept cargo area [capacity] of the Sportwagon the same size as the VT-VZ models or even made it bigger?

By: McKay

McKay — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:02:13 +0000

Approximately 80% of Commodore and Falcon sales remain fleet driven and the stats don’t change no matter how you look at it.

It is still 80% or even a little more this year according to the sources i have read.

By: Dlr1

Dlr1 — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:36:35 +0000

Frontman, don’t confuse dealer decision making with that of the manufacturer. Sales staff are employed by the dealer, not TMCA or Ford Australia. Doubtless most sales staff these days are on far less attractive commission packages than in the past, so volume, no matter who you work for is more important than ever.

By: nix

nix — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:17:34 +0000

So the station wagon was released 3 months ago, that’s really relevant to the last 10 years. Here’s a tip, stop reading the brochures

Crikey some of you guys make me laugh.