Toyota May Renew No-Interest Loan Sales Incentive

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Washington DC October 27, 2008; The AIADA newsletter reported that Toyota's "Saved by Zero" campaign is building traffic and might be renewed, says Bob Carter, general manager of Toyota Division.

In Lewisville, Texas, dealer Rene Isip says, "0 percent is working for us." He says his September sales were down 18 percent from September 2007, but October sales are tracking at just below 2 percent behind last October's total.

Frank Carl, operations manager at Camelback Toyota in Phoenix, tells Automotive News that under the loan program, which began Oct. 2, daily Internet leads have grown from 10 or fewer to as many as 45. "But I wish Toyota would come out with more customer rebates," Carl says. Camelback Toyota sold 340 Toyotas in September, down from 550 to 650 a month for the past 24 months.

"We use rebates to get people in cars more than half the time," Carl says. "Rebates are more helpful than the interest rate." Isip also says Toyota Financial "is buying deep." He says he recently financed a customer with a 550 credit score.