Toyota Sales Rise 40% in March on Incentives

Toyota sales surged 40 percent in March compared with last year after the automaker offered some of its deepest discounts ever to cope with the fallout of millions of recalls, reported The Associated Press. The incentives were scheduled to end April 5, but Toyota Group Vice President Bob Carter said some will continue into the spring, including an offer of free maintenance for return Toyota customers. "When you look at what retail consumers are buying, many more retail consumers are going to be buying Toyotas in the month of March than any other brand," Carter said in an interview with the AP at the New York International Auto Show, which kicked off with press previews on Wednesday. Toyota Motor Corp. has been reeling from the recall of more than 8 million vehicles worldwide — including 6 million in the U.S. — over problems with accelerator pedals and braking issues with the Prius hybrid. The automaker rolled out aggressive incentive programs in early March, including 0-percent financing on recalled models, low-priced leasing and the free maintenance offer. Carter said Toyota would provide updates on its incentive programs on Monday, but added that any changes would be small. "We'll tweak them, adjust them, but don't expect us to have much of a strategic change," he said. "They're working very well. Carter said Toyota dealers have so far repaired about 2 million recalled cars and trucks in the U.S. Dealers are repairing about 50,000 vehicles a day, he said, by adding metal shims to the accelerators and shaving down pedals to prevent them from sticking or getting trapped under floor mats. Automakers are scheduled to report March sales on Thursday. Toyota's sales fell 9 percent in February while the broader industry saw sales climb 13 percent. Carter said one big seller in March was the RAV4 small SUV, which saw sales more than triple from February to about 24,000. Those sales got a boost from trade-ins from rival automakers and brisk business from young families, who like how the vehicle combines elements of a sedan and SUV. Carter said "a small percentage" of Toyota's March sales increase was due to customers who would have bought Toyotas in later months. A large number of buyers remain "on the fence" about buying Toyotas and will make their purchase once the media frenzy over quality dies down. Carter said he welcomed government investigations into any ties between electronics in Toyota vehicles and cases of unintended acceleration. Toyota has repeatedly denied that its electronics are to blame for unintended acceleration, blaming faulty gas pedals or pedal entrapment under floor mats.