Quote:
Originally Posted by Tcoat
Profitability is based on selling the number of units planned and built not necessarily on building more units. I repeat as long as they are making what they planned and selling what they make they are fine with it.
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Don't disagree with any of that - but my point is that Toyota may not sell the volume of 86s they plan to with its new higher price and now less attractive look relative to the BRZ.
World-wide,
if 86s start to sit around for many weeks on dealer lots the inevitable discounting will make Toyota think carefully about offering future versions. And there's obviously
some point below which (for a given sales price) sales cannot dip if unit profitability is to be maintained, this is is no halo car for Toyota that might justify sustained losses - the new Supra will assume that role.
The disproportionate dealer ratio you mention should not be much of a constraint on BRZ sales in urban areas where 80% of the population is based, and where the average resident is within 1/2 an hour or so of a Subaru dealer - but it could be an issue out in the rural areas. Even with the 2016s, despite having 5 times the number of dealerships here (if your claim is correct), Toyota/Scion had only 50-100% more twin sales by month than Subaru recently.
The three Subie dealers I have dealt with in the GTA have seemed more than eager to sell me a BRZ; this notion that Subaru dealerships don't care about selling BRZs seems apocryphal and unsubstantiated. Of course neither company does much to advertise the car.