Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest carmaker, said it will spend a "larger than average" $1 billion on U.S. marketing in the fourth quarter as the country's economy begins to recover.
"We're starting to see some glimmers of hope out there," Irv Miller, group vice president for Toyota's U.S. sales unit, said in an interview. "We feel there's momentum coming out of August, and our inventory level is very good, so the time is right."
Toyota plans to spend more on advertising, incentives and dealer support after the government's "cash for clunkers" program, which helped it boost U.S. sales 6.4 percent last month, ended on Aug. 24. Detroit-based General Motors Co. has also announced plans for a marketing push, including a 60-day money- back guarantee and advertisements featuring Chairman Ed Whitacre.
"It makes sense for Toyota to increase spending," said Yasuhiro Matsumoto, a senior analyst at Shinsei Securities Co. in Tokyo. "Inventories have come down, and demand is coming back."
The Toyota City, Japan-based automaker's inventories fell to just 11 days at the beginning of the month. Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles accounted for more than 19 percent of sales under the "clunkers" program.
Economic Rebound
Toyota's marketing budget was disclosed to dealers at a meeting attended by President Akio Toyoda in Las Vegas on Sept. 15, Miller said. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that it was as much as 40 percent more than the company would typically spend. Miller declined to confirm that figure.
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