Toyota predicts car sales to grow by 40%
www.chinaview.cn 2004-11-26 08:56:57
BEIJING, Nov. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Toyota Motor Corp, Japan's top automaker, expects its unit sales in the Chinese mainland to grow by 40 per cent this year, reported China Daily on Friday.
The company's sales will reach 140,000 vehicles in the mainland this year, up from almost 100,000 units last year, said Masashi Isogai, deputy executive representative of Toyota Motor Corp China Office.
The figure is lower than Toyota's previous target of more than 150,000 vehicles on the mainland this year.
Toyota sold 92,441 vehicles in the mainland in the first 10 months of this year.
The sales included 72,735 vehicles produced in China and 19,706 imported units.
Toyota now produces Corolla, Vios and Dario Terios compact cars, Land Cruiser and Prado sport utility vehicles and Coaster buses in three joint ventures in northern, northeastern and western China with First Automotive Works Corp (FAW), the nation's No 1 automobile manufacturer.
"The current slowdown in growth of China's automobile market is very natural following robust growth over the past two years," said Isogai.
Sales of vehicles made in China rose by 17.6 per cent year-on-year to 4.13 million units from January to October this year.
The growth was down from 34 per cent last year. Sales growth of passenger cars declined to 18.8 per cent during the period from 75 per cent last year.
"We do not expect a big sales growth in China next year but the market will rebound in 2006," Isogai told China Daily during the ongoing Second Guangzhou International Motor Show.
"We still believe China's auto market will grow to 10 million units by 2010, ranking second in the world," he said.
Toyota aims to control 10 per cent of China's auto market by 2010.
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