Buy used, urges Toyota

Toyota Australia has a suggestion for anyone feeling disenfranchised by the shock re-pricing of its all-new entry-level model, the new Toyota Yaris hatchback, to well beyond $20,000: Buy a used car instead. Preferably a Toyota used car.

The question is, will they?

As we reported yesterday, pricing for the third-generation Toyota Yaris light-car now starts at $22,130 plus on-road costs.

Pricing across the range has gone up as much as 44 per cent, positioning the Yaris against larger small cars such as Toyota’s own Corolla and well above other mini-cars.

In response to that, Toyota Australia Vice President Sales and Marketing Sean Hanley spruiked Toyota’s certified pre-owned program during the video call with media to launch the Yaris.

In a follow-up press release, he pointed out that almost one-third of used Toyota stock is priced under $20,000.

"Consumers are finding a Toyota Certified Pre-Owned vehicle is an affordable entry point to our brand – and often the first step in becoming a customer for life, with 15 per cent of owners purchasing a new car within five years," Hanley said.

Of course, that entry-point to the brand was previously the preserve of the Yaris, but its price rise obviously dilutes that role.

In the price sensitive mini-car segment it’s also going to act as an incentive for buyers intent on purchasing a new vehicle to look elsewhere, says Ross Booth, the general manager of vehicle valuation expert Redbook.com.au.

“Are people prepared to pay more than $25,000 drive-away for a Yaris manual with steel wheels? There will be people who do because it’s a great car, but there will be people who go into alternatives, whether it’s a certified used Toyota or a new competitor,” said Booth.

“You would think Toyota will lose market share to price-sensitive customers; they have increased their price 44 per cent.

“If there is price-sensitive people they will lose new-car market share to people buying used Yarises or something more affordable.”

While a number of brands such as Ford, Honda, Hyundai and Renault have abandoned the min-car segment and others such as Mazda have pushed pricing up, there are still options under $20,000.

The re-pricing of the Yaris opens the way even further for the MG MG3, which is priced from $16,490 to $18,490 drive-away. It has taken over as the segment leader from Yaris as stocks of the second-gen Toyota dwindled.

The soon-to-be-updated Kia Picanto micro-car is priced from $14,690 to $18,990 plus on-road costs and its larger sibling the Rio has just been facelifted and sits in a price brand stretching from $18,090 to $23,990.

Suzuki has two entrants that start well under $20,000 in the Baleno and soon-to-be-updated Swift, while the highly-rated Skoda Fabia offers both hatch and wagon models priced from under $20K.

In an effort to entice buyers into its used car lot, Toyota is offering a free defensive driving course for anyone under 25 who purchases a used car over the next three months.

The Toyota certified pre-owned car scheme was launched in 2012 and recently passed 100,000 sales.

Under the program, all Toyotas certified for the program must be under 10 years old and have fewer than 160,000km on the odometer.

Once certified, the vehicles are covered by 12 months of Toyota Roadside Assist, in addition to the statutory warranty.