Price war on pickups: there are discounts of more than 10%

With the “restyling” of the Volkswagen Amarokthe competition between the different brands became red hot.

It is clear that the Toyota Hilux She is the assured leader. Not only is it the best-selling pickup, but it led the October ranking general of models. Patented 2,967 units.

Pickups: discounts on sales prices

The Amarok patented 2,247 units in the month and placed fifth in the general ranking, counting all types of vehicles, but second in the segment. Meanwhile, the ford ranger It stayed in seventh place with 1,930 and third among the “chatas.”

Before the launch of the renewal of the German brand’s vehicle, few gave it a chance to surpass the oval.

There was talk of a very slight restyling compared to a modern Ranger that required an investment of more than US$600 million. The numbers, in these two months, show otherwise.

The interesting thing about this bid in the pickup segment is the price war which occurred in October and continues in November, despite the fact that the inflation remains at 4%

Beyond the official lists, the important thing is what happens in the dealerships and the actual transaction price.

Although the market is on the rise, it is not something to celebrate and there is a very good offer of vehicles in this segment. All these pickups are produced in the country and manufacturing is at a good pace. We must add to the Frontier of Nissan and the Alaskan of Renault, beyond the production stops in Santa Isabel.

A survey carried out by dealers of these brands shows that in the second half of October they were selling with discounts of between 10% and 12% on the list price so as not to lose customers.

Obviously, in addition to the agencies’ need to make cash, there is some pressure from the terminals to increase patenting and rank better.

In practice, making that discount is for dealers to sell at cost. Normally they work with a margin of 15%. If they give a 12% discount, the three remaining points are only enough to cover some taxes.

“Depending on the need and urgency of each dealership, they may be selling at a loss. Having margins of 15%, if it is sold with a 12% discount, it is not enough to replace the unit, due to the payment of gross income, safety and hygiene fee, commissions, and other fixed expenses that we have. There have been cases of people who have brought us quotes from colleagues with discounts of 12%,” said the manager of a Toyota dealership in Capital Federal, as published by this media today in the price note.

This situation is not just for Toyota. Ford dealerships also acknowledge that they ended October selling with discounts above 10%.

According to an agency in the interior of the country, they began selling the Ranger Limited Plus version at the beginning of October for $73,500,000 and in recent days they closed operations at $65,000,000. That is, $8,500,000 difference in a few days. It is that 11% or 12% discount that they say is being made on the list price.

At a Volkswagen dealership in Greater Buenos Aires they confirmed this situation.

“The market is angry. Full prices are over. Operation that you do not do at the moment, you lose it. There is a lot of product and there are discounts because we need to rotate. If you don’t patent and you don’t get paid, you can’t buy later. We are working with discounts of 9% to 11%. The issue is not to lose the sale,” said the owner of the agency.

Despite this, the terminal lists are arriving with increases. From a dealership, they explained the reason for this measure in this context.

“By increasing the price, the terminal optimizes its profitability. Since the market does not validate the prices of pickup trucks, to carry out operations, the dealer is the adjustment variable that must reduce or renounce its commission margin. We have no choice but to buy from the terminal at the price it sets for us. Then we have to fix ourselves because at the price we sell it is not enough to replace it the following month. It is difficult to sustain the situation like this for a long time,” explained another dealership owner.

“In October, pickup sales were already going strong and there was great competition among dealers offering high discounts on prices to complete operations. In November they send a list with an increase, which makes it even more difficult for us to sell,” added the businessman.

At a Nissan brand dealership they agreed with the need to make discounts.

“There is a lot of merchandise and the market is tough. We sell with 11% discount or more. If I have to make 13%, I do it, even if it is at cost. It serves to make a little volume, a little cash, but the financial situation of the agencies is complicated with this situation,” acknowledged the manager of a dealership of the Japanese brand.