Kyosho, like many Japanese companies have never focused on outright profitability. It the case of Kyosho, they have NEVER been the cheapest at anything. On the contrary, they have ALWAYS been the most expensive (just look at the Inferno Kanai editions, vs other cars in the market). They focus more on material quality and manufacture as much as is possible in Japan (including the electronics, by KO Propo). This leads the cost to be much higher than other companies out there that are looking to maximize profits and minimize costs.
A while back I talked to a good buddy of mine about this. He is/was a salaried Kyosho Team Driver. He told me that the owner of Kyosho just wanted to win, period. He did not care much about the profitability of the brand because it was a bit of a secondary business to him. Apparently, the owner of Kyosho is a very rich man, that made his money elsewhere. I don't know how much of this is entirely accurate. So in relation to pricing of the 03, they are not as concerned of it curbing demand as much as we may think.
In japan Mini-Z is big because space, in large cities, is at a premium. Therefore Mini-Z provides the perfect solution for racing competitively. The problem over there is that they cannot buy Chinese products. Importing is FAR too expensive, so you are hard-pressed to find any products for the Z's other than their domestic brands (Kyosho, Kawada, QTEQ, Atlas, etc). These parts, as expensive as they are, are still cheaper than importing PN or Atomic parts. Up until recently, there was absolutely no Chinese or American Mini-Z products in Japan.
So enter the limited editions and the MR-03's of the Z' world. To the Japanese consumer (which is by far the largest racing-oriented market) the price hike is not an issue because they are getting a better "box-stock"version of a Z. They will receive a product that is more race-worthy out of the box, at a relatively cheaper price than they would have to pay for importing aftermarket products. Also, the majority of their racing is Kyosho-Cup structured, which means little, if any other products than Kyosho are allowed for competition.
Hence their lack of concern for selling 500 v. 1000 units in the USA (arbitrary numbers). Their end goal is not to grow the Z so much that it cannibalizes their other forms of racing as well. It is just to have a nice little niche, where they can compliment their brand and product line.
Kyosho also manages their demand very well. We are always complaining about how stuff runs out and they should manufacture more. This will never happen, as part of the culture of the 'Z in Japan, is the exclusivity and collect-ability of the products, (i.e. the AutoScale COLLECTION). In order to manage their demand, they play with their pricing and supply of products.
The pricing ESTIMATE I received for the 03, came from somebody at Kyosho America, so it should be pretty accurate. On the plus side think, so far, from what we know, we will receive all kyosho plastic motor mounts, 2 different front ends and perhaps a wheel kit. Plus the electronics will be slightly improved. As much as WE don't use this stuff EVER, their primary market does, and this brings much added value to the car.
Remember, we have ALWAYS received the crumbs over here. Many items never even make it State-side from the Mini-Z line. (white bodies immediately come to mind)
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