May sales records show real value of Toyota Trucks and Lexus SUVs

All time sales records for all-new Venza, Canadian-made RAV4 and Lexus RX 350: best May ever for Tacoma 4x4

 

(TORONTO) – TCI’s May sales of Toyota and Lexus cars, SUVs and trucks totalled 21,316 (down 25.2% from May 2008). This included 19,729 Toyota vehicles sold during the month (down 26%). Lexus sold 1,587 luxury vehicles in May (down 13%).

For May, record numbers of Canadian drivers decided to get ready for the summer of 2009 in a Toyota Truck or Lexus luxury SUV.

Highlights for TCI in May 2009 (versus May 2008):

· Best month ever for Lexus luxury SUVs at 913 (up 14.1%).

· An all-time record for TCI truck sales, at 8,105 (up 7%).

· Best month ever for Toyota Trucks at 7,192 (up 6.1%).

Highlights for Toyota in May 2009 (versus May 2008):

· Best month ever for the Toyota RAV4, with 2,741 models sold (up 16.4%). This is the fifth-straight record sales month for the Canadian-built RAV4, following a best-ever year in 2008.

· Best May ever for the Toyota Tacoma 4x4 pick-up, with 1,079 models sold (up 12.4%).

· A new monthly record for the Toyota Venza, now available in both efficient four-cylinder and powerful V6 editions. Sales of 1,083 in May mark the first time more than 1,000 models have been sold, and bring total Venza sales to 3,659 since the model was introduced in January.

"We are happy to see that, in May, Canadian drivers turned to Toyota and demonstrated that they are looking for quality vehicles that deliver the real value of power, fuel efficiency, and versatility. Nowhere is that more apparent than with our all-new Toyota Venza and our built-in-Canada Toyota RAV4 compact SUV,” said Warren Orton, Director at TCI. "At Toyota we are committed to doing what we can to help make things better in this economic environment for Canadians by offering value-added pricing and new offers on fuel efficient, safe and well equipped vehicles."

Highlights for Lexus in May 2009 (versus May 2008):

· An all-time record for the Canadian-built Lexus RX350. Following a record March and April for the RX350, the all-new, third-generation, 2010 model helped power May RX sales to 806 (up 47.1%).

"Drivers in the luxury market are looking for a vehicle that is advanced, luxurious and powerful, yet intuitive, safe and fuel-efficient. We would like to thank Canadians who have embraced the made-in-Canada 2010 RX 350 as it was redesigned with them in mind,” said Larry Hutchinson, Director of Lexus in Canada. “Our Lexus RX350 sales over the past three months demonstrate that Canadians share our vision for advanced technology and intuitive designs that deliver exceptional luxury motoring experiences. With more new and exciting vehicles on the way – from the Lexus HS250h dedicated hybrid luxury sedan to the ISConvertible – we look forward to welcoming more Canadians to pursue the moment with Lexus in the coming months.”

Toyota Canada also implemented a general price adjustment on 2010 models. Although Toyota is adding value to the lineup with additional standard features and additional content in options packages for the 2010 model year, Toyota has kept price adjustments to within the range of inflation, continuing Toyota’s philosophy of enhancing successive model years with additional content yet minimal price adjustments to deliver real value to Canadian drivers. Price changes range from 0% to +2.5%, with an average adjustment of +1.2% across all Toyota and Lexus models.