Toyota of Redlands Facing Vehicle Shortage

In the wake of March’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan, Toyota dealerships across the country - including Toyota of Redlands - are gearing up for a shortage of certain vehicles.

“All hybrids are built in Japan,” said Justin Jones, Internet sales associate at Toyota of Redlands. “Our Prius has been the number one hybrid for over 10 years now, and that has been affected. It’s a supply and demand thing; not only did Japan get devastated by this, but gas prices are flying up right now, which has created a higher demand for the  Prius.”

The hybrid synergy drive is inside three Toyota vehicles - the Prius, the hybrid Highlander and the hybrid Camry, with the Prius being the most popular.

“We’re not selling them for the huge discounts that have been going on for over two years now due to the economy crash,” Jones said. “Everything will go back to normal, but right now there are no incentives on the Prius, just thousand dollar rebates on some vehicles, and $3,000 on trucks.”

At one point, there was just one Prius on the Toyota of Redlands lot; currently, there are just a handful.

“I’ve sold for two years, in San Diego, Wisconsin and Redlands, and I’ve always seen a demand for Prius,” Jones said. “You get 50 miles a gallon right off the bat. We’ve had people come in with 2010 vehicles, Nissans, Fords, that they don’t want anymore. They literally have less than 3,000 miles, and they lose money on just the drive off, but save in the long run when they get a Prius.”

Toyota is doing its part to inform its dealerships about how the company has been affected by the tragedy in Japan, and recently an official came to Toyota of Redlands to speak with employees. 

“We had someone from corporate come in and tell us that production isn’t going to slow down on American made Toyotas,” said Jones. “As far as what I know, anything built in America, including our number one selling Camry, is going to be perfectly fine. There is no shortage of any supply.”

Toyota announced last Friday that North American vehicle plants will operate on a reduced schedule, closing for multiple days over the course of the month. On average, around 85 percent of the parts and materials for the North-American built Toyota and Lexus models are sourced from 500 suppliers on this continent. According to Jones, there are over 8,000 parts in a Toyota vehicle.

“Production has slowed, but has not stopped,” he said.

Jones encourages anyone with questions to give Toyota of Redlands a call, and they will answer them to the best of their ability.

“Everyone is more than welcome to contact us,” he said. “We’ve had corporate come and let us know exactly what Toyota is saying so we can inform the consumers on what we do know. In times like this, whether it’s the economy, a global crisis, or anything, no matter what we are human beings and need to stick together.”