TOYOTA IS expected to announce price reductions to several models within its range as it prepares for what looks set to be a difficult 2010 in the motor industry. This follows an announcement from Land Rover that its new model range will come in at less than the outgoing models.
Land Rover, now under the stewardship of distributor OHM following the closure of Land Rover Ireland earlier this year, will retail the new Discovery 4 model at €59,600 for the XE seven-seater, which is €3,970 less than the previous 2.7-litre diesel model.
Toyota is expected to announce price reductions to selected models within its range today to its dealer network at its AGM prior to the launch of the new Corolla Verso and Prius models.
It is expected that there will be price reductions and incentives to Corolla petrol models and to Land Cruiser Commercial models.
Sales of petrol Corolla models have been hit by the changes to the VRT and motor tax system and sales of Land Cruiser Commercial models have been hit by the downturn in the building trade.
These are the latest firms to cut prices in the market. Premium brands Audi, BMW, Volvo and Mercedes have all cut prices in recent months while several mainstream brands have introduced discounting schemes or selected cuts across model ranges.
Price cuts are the latest effort to stimulate sales and reduce new-car volumes within the brands. While there has been a significant reduction in dealer stock levels compared to 12 months ago, distributors are eager to capture the public's attention ahead of January, a period that can represent up to a third of the year's sales.
The introduction of price cuts come amid a week of further turmoil for the motor industry.
Following on the High Court liquidation of Belgard Motors on Friday, Cloghran Motor Co (trading as Airport Kia on the Old Airport Road, Dublin) has called a creditor meeting for December 4th, at which a liquidator is due to be appointed.
The firm, which until recently held the franchise for Kia and Isuzu, employs nine staff at present.