Sydney City Toyota
CITY EXTRA
Welcome to the ‘New (Ab)normal’ By John Roca, Dealer Principal
It’s my pleasure to welcome you to our first edition of City Extra for 2022 and to act as your guide to the way we’re going to meet your motoring needs in a world like never before. ‘New normal’ is such an overused phrase and it’s also a bit misleading because what we regard as ‘normal’ this year might not be so in 2023. So, I’m calling it the New Abnormal. In so many respects, though, the news is all positive. Demand for motor vehicles – SUVs, passenger vehicles and commercials – has been way ahead of most expectations. In 2021 Australians bought more than 1,049,000 motor vehicles: not a record, but that’s only because demand outstripped supply. If we’d had the vehicles available, 2021 would have been a runaway record beater. Toyota customers fared the best of all. We delivered almost quarter of a million Toyotas – 21 percent of all registrations and that marked 25 years of Toyota leadership in the Australian market. I suspect it’s going to be the same story this year. The pandemic has been the culprit that has slowed the production of microprocessors which are essential for the smooth running of new vehicles. Its caused immense frustration for eager and loyal guests who have every right to expect to buy their new Toyota when they want it. Instead, we’re told it will be August until the market returns to some normality. By the look of it, Toyota will be in a better position than most then to meet pent up demand.
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But truly, that will be playing catch up. As part of our action plan for 2022, we’ve now drawn up a means of helping our guests to plan ahead – to get their new Toyota at a time when they want it. Right now, we’re suggesting to our guests that they should think a year ahead. If you know you’re going to want to trade up in 2023, now is the time we can help you choose and specify the exact vehicle you want and put in an order that reserves it for when you need it. In one respect forward planning is going to help you get exactly the vehicle you desire, even with the most popular models. It’s going to make life easy. In this age of New Abnormal we’ve even thought outside the square. As demand for quality used vehicles goes sky-high, we’re helping a small number of customers realise the appreciation of their automotive asset by trading it in now when its value is inflated. The downside is that they’ll have to wait for their new Toyota to arrive. But some families have multiple cars in their garage so they might be happy to arrange a work-around. It’s not going to suit everyone, but it’s a service that might make change-over pricing even more attractive. In the pages of City Extra there are helpful hints to help you see 2022 as an automotive glass-half-full. There are so many good new Toyota vehicles in the pipeline we’re truly excited about the road ahead.