Tundra had a tough month, but Toyota's not concerned
Mark Rechtin Automotive News February 21, 2008 - 12:01 am ET
LOS ANGELES - Sales of the Tundra fell short of expectations in January, but Toyota is not worried about meeting its annual objective for the full-size pickup.
Last year, the Tundra's better sales months were in the 18,000 to 22,000 range. But January's mark of 12,073 was well below that. On an annualized basis, that came to a 185,000-unit clip. That's well below the 200,000-plus mark Toyota has set for 2008.
" I learned from (former Toyota boss) Bob McCurry to never make long-term decisions based on January and February business," said Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A." We're not pushing the panic button."
January is a slow month for Toyota trucks, usually representing about 6.5 percent of the annual sales mark, Lentz said in an interview. He added that February sales are looking " pretty good."
" We have plenty of time to recover from 185,000 up to 200,000. The first half of 2008, especially in pickup, is going to be more challenging. We're comfortable with where we are," Lentz said.
Toyota will not pile on the incentives in reaction to a slow January, Lentz said, adding that, " Typically we follow Detroit (in launching incentives), we don't lead."