Toyota’s new way of selling vehicles has generated a relatively quiet start with 1362 sold in April.
Dubbed the Drive Happy Project, chief executive Alistair Davis says the company is happy with the result.
“We expected a significant dip in sales for April,” Davis says.
“Transitioning to a new way of doing business is not going to happen overnight, or even in one month. We are in this for the long term.”
Davis says the first month of the new financial year – April – is generally slower for its fleet, rental and lease business.
“This has allowed us to fine tune some of our system changes without the pressure of the usual larger sales volumes.”
Customers are still getting used to the idea of a Toyota Driveaway Price (TDP), which involves lower prices with no haggling, he says.
“There’s a transition period for us as our network of stores and customers to get used to the improvements we’re making. We’re excited for the future and the opportunities these changes have opened up for us.”
