Key Takeaways
- The GR86 had its best sales month ever in the US in May.
- It posted a 104.4 percent increase over May 2023.
- The Supra also had a great month with an increase of 78.1% over May 2023, outselling the Subaru BRZ.
In an exciting change of pace, Toyota sports car sales are up for May. The GR86 posted its best US sales month of all time, moving 1,981 units, which is an increase of 104.4% over May 2023. On top of this, the Supra saw a 78.1% increase over May 2023, moving 406 units. This bodes well for the state of small, rear-wheel drive sports cars coming from the brand, even if sports car sales for its competitors were a bit of a mixed bag.
Toyota
Toyota is a Japanese automaker founded in 1937 that has developed a reputation for reliability across a multitude of segments, from sports cars and family sedans to pickup trucks and off-roaders. Famous models from the brand include the Hilux, Land Cruiser, Camry, Crown, and Corolla, the latter being the world’s best-selling vehicle nameplate, with more than 50 million Corolla-badged vehicles being sold since it was first introduced. Toyota typically competes in the mainstream market, but is also famous for launching Lexus as a luxury sub-brand to take on Mercedes-Benz.
- Founded
- August 28, 1937
- Founder
- Kiichiro Toyoda
- Headquarters
- Aichi, Japan
- Owned By
- Publicly Traded
- Current CEO
- Koji Sato
This news is great to hear because sales of both models have been down recently, with the Supra selling downright abysmally, falling to a low of only 85 sold across the country in October of last year. While the summer months are always a great time for the sales of sports cars, it is interesting sales have jumped so substantially given there have been no significant changes to either model.
Killing The Competition
Looking at Subaru, Nissan, and Mazda last month, it’s obvious Toyota knew something they didn’t. Mazda did the best out of the three, seeing a 12.3% increase in Miata sales with 1,090 units sold over the same time last year, which is pretty remarkable given we’re talking about a generation that’s nearly 10 years old. Nissan hasn’t released its May sales yet, so it’s hard to directly compare, but in April the Z saw a sales increase of 43.5% compared to the same month last year. It’s possible dealer markups have started to subside and the slow production rollout of the model has been figured out.
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The best barometer to show how well the GR86 is doing is comparing it to its twin, the Subaru BRZ, and there the competition isn’t even close. BRZ sales were down 64.4% to 227 in May compared to last year, and sales for the year are currently down 45% compared to the same period in 2023. The Supra, which retails for $16,000 more than the BRZ, not only outsold it in the month but is currently outselling it for the year with 1,223 units sold to the BRZ’s 1,171. Yikes.
Good And Bad News For Toyota
While Toyota must be thrilled its sports cars are finally selling at solid volumes, it’s not great that its partner Subaru is currently suffering. Subaru did much of the engineering for the twin sports cars, supplied the engine, and currently jointly produces them at its Gunma plant in Japan. If sales of its version of the sports car continue to fall far below the sales of Toyota’s, what incentive does the company have for a future product, even if Toyota owns 20% of the company?
Toyota GR86 Generations: Everything You Need To Know In One Place
The fun-to-drive RWD GR86 caters to the affordable sports-car market, putting driver enjoyment above power and performance.
It’s already well known the Supra is on its way out in 2026, as BMW has no plans past the current generation Z4, and Toyota’s sports car-loving CEO Akio Toyoda is no longer at the helm to champion future sports car products. While the company has come out and said it’s committed to combustion sports cars far into the future, without joint investment from another automaker the prospect immediately becomes more precarious.
