The market for compact sports cars is shrinking but Toyota and Subaru both agree that the 86 and BRZ were worth updating for a second generation.
The outgoing 86 and BRZ only account for a tiny percentage of U.S. sales for the Japanese automakers. Toyota sold only 2,476 examples of the 86 last year, accounting for just 0.13 per cent of its U.S. sales. Meanwhile, Subaru shifted 2,267 units of the BRZ in 2020, or 0.37 per cent of its U.S. sales. However, Toyota has delivered nearly 80,000 examples since the model’s introduction in 2012 while Subaru has sold nearly 43,000 BRZs.
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While speaking with Auto News recently, vice president of vehicle marketing and communications at Toyota Motor North America, Mike Tripp, said there was enough demand for the two sports cars for them to get a new generation for the 2022 model year.
“No doubt there’s a significant shift to SUVs,” he said. “The reality is there is still a good-size market for individuals who love the joy of driving.” Tripp added that while “it’s a shrinking market,” the automaker has been taking its “motorsports and track experience and bringing that into a vehicle that’s not only fun to drive but also at an attainable price point.”
Tripp says that Toyota U.S. expects to sell 800 to 1,000 GR 86 models each month, predominantly to Gen Xers and millennials. He also said that appealing to the import tuner crowd is a key part of the company’s plans to market and sell the car.
“We have a wide range of GR accessories that we’re introducing with this vehicle that are not just accessories for look but also performance-based, which we think goes very well with the vehicle,” Tripp said. “Additionally, we’ll work with SEMA on a measuring session so that other partners can look at what accessories they can bring to market… We think the range of accessories for this type of vehicle is significant.”
