Price increases by about 2 million over 2 years, and restrictions on new purchases …… How the “Alphard” became a luxury item.

People’s lives have changed dramatically since the COVID-19 crisis. Various factors such as the spread of remote working and the soaring cost of living affected people’s lives, but the soaring price of cars is one of the most noticeable changes that many people can easily feel.

If you walk down the street, you will see countless cars on the road, and if you turn on the TV, you are sure to see a car commercial. Cars that were once commonplace are now becoming “luxury items.

Among domestic cars, Toyota Motor Corporation stands out in particular for its soaring prices. The company offers a lineup of popular models such as the Alphard, Vellfire, Crown, Land Cruiser, and Prius, all of which have become increasingly difficult to obtain in recent years. The price of the new Alphard is particularly surprising.

The X grade launched in May 2009 was priced at 3.59 million yen, making it a luxury minivan that was affordable with a residual value set loan. However, the new Alphard launched in 2011 is priced from 5.4 million yen, a price range that has quickly shifted out of reach of the average person. Moreover, despite this aggressive price tag, there are a number of hurdles that must be overcome in order to purchase the new model.

Toyota’s Sales Strategy and Resale Measures

Toyota has established its own rules to prevent resale.

We had a case where a vehicle was resold within a month of purchase, so we refused to sell to new customers, giving priority to trustworthy customers with whom we had done business in the past. Asking customers to take out loans instead of cash is also part of our resale prevention measures.

Some stores also held lottery sales. We heard that each store had a fixed number of order slots allocated to it, and some stores allocated less than 10 units. This may have resulted in a premium for the Alphard and Vellfire,” said a Toyota sales representative.

As a salesperson, he says, “There are some aspects that are bothering me.

For example, if there is a customer who wants to buy a Crown, but the order quota is already filled, there is no way to sell him another car, and he has to wait until the next quota comes around. It’s frustrating for both the customer and the sales person.”

What about other manufacturers? We asked a sales representative from Nissan Motor Co.

The shortage of semiconductors affected production, but delivery was not delayed as long as Toyota’s. Basically, one to two months is enough time for delivery. Basically, Nissan’s strength is that we can deliver cars within one to two months. We had many customers who came to us because they couldn’t afford a Toyota. The price of the Elgrand released in 2011 increased by about 250,000 yen from the previous year to about 4 million yen, but compared to the Alphard and Vellfire, it may be a good value. I hope they will release the new Elgrand soon.”

Every year, the price of cars increases and the hurdle to purchase a new car is getting higher. When we interviewed men in their first to fifth year of work, many said they were hesitant to buy a new car considering maintenance and insurance costs. Instead, car-sharing services and car rentals have become more common, with “borrowing a parent’s car” being the next most common option.

In the past, there was a time when owning a car was the norm for grown men. However, today, this value is becoming a thing of the past, as the rising cost of living has not kept pace with the rising cost of living.