June '15 Yaris Sales: Up

[Kalispel]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

Nope. Profit margin is probably 500-600 bucks? And since we discount all of our car already, my dealership only makes 100-200 bucks on a Yaris.

Toyota had incentives on the Yaris two months ago, iirc. Still, no one bought.

In the U.S. Market. the Yaris is just stuck in a tough niche, and it doesn't help that Toyota treats it like "a red-headed-stepchild". Plus, many consumers have fallen for the fallacy that "latest tech" (such as a CVT) is better, despite the fact that it tends to lead to less reliability and/or more-expensive repairs -even if it might squeeze out an extra 1-3 MPG .

People in this segment shopping on a price/value basis, tend to head to the Nissan Versa. People shopping in this segment on a hype/recognition basis, read the fawning, biased reviews of the Honda Fit, and head in that direction (despite numerous recalls, super-ugly design, Mexico-origins, etc.). People looking for "hot hatches" tend to gravitate towards performance versions of the Ford Focus or certain European offerings. Toyota shoppers in this segment are herded towards the Corolla or the lower Prius models at nearly the same price-point as the Yaris after incentives.

The Yaris ends up being an completely overlooked sleeper, and it doesn't help probably that Toyota refuses to 'update' the automatic transmission in the USA to match some of its offshore versions of the car, or that they use the same 106HP engine in the SE, when something as simple as a 125-135hp engine would give it a LOT more buzz/interest among those people looking for a "sporty hatchback".

It just all boils down to a tough segment of the Market, and the fact that Toyota (or Mazda for that matter) isn't willing to put subcompacts like the Yaris (or Mazda2) into this market with the same level of commitment and attractive features as they are in other countries (or in Japan itself). We are an afterthought market when it comes to subcompacts and Japanese manufacturers in general, and it probably doesn't help that most Americans simply do not like really small cars, or hatchbacks in general (without something adding into the mix like high hybrid MPG numbers).