Toyota China sales plunge 21% in March as rivals cut prices
Sales of automobiles in China by Toyota Motor Corp. and its two Chinese joint ventures fell 21 percent in March, while those for the first three months of the year slipped 0.1 percent.
The results, announced by Toyota on Wednesday, amounted to what a company spokesman called a surprisingly weak showing by Japan's top automaker that resulted from tough competition as dealerships discounted some rival vehicles.
Toyota and its Chinese joint ventures sold 71,500 vehicles in China in March. Its volume during the January-March quarter totaled 227,700 vehicles.
Takanori Yokoi, a Beijing-based Toyota spokesman, said the newly redesigned Corolla and Levin models sold well during March, but sales of the RAV4 crossover and the Vios compact car were particularly disappointing.
Yokoi blamed the big year-on-year slide in March sales mostly on fierce competition. He cited, for example, dealerships that discounted competitive models such as the Honda CR-V crossover, a rival of the RAV4.
Toyota aims to sell 1.1 million vehicles in China in 2015, after failing to clear that sales level and meet last year's target. That means its expected pace of growth in China would almost halve this year, to 6.8 percent.
Japan's top carmaker sold about 1.03 million vehicles in China last year, up 12 percent from 2013.
On Wednesday, Yokoi said the company was still on track to achieve its China sales objective for 2015.
Toyota and its Chinese joint ventures sold 71,500 vehicles in China in March. Its volume during the January-March quarter totaled 227,700 vehicles.
Takanori Yokoi, a Beijing-based Toyota spokesman, said the newly redesigned Corolla and Levin models sold well during March, but sales of the RAV4 crossover and the Vios compact car were particularly disappointing.
Yokoi blamed the big year-on-year slide in March sales mostly on fierce competition. He cited, for example, dealerships that discounted competitive models such as the Honda CR-V crossover, a rival of the RAV4.
Toyota aims to sell 1.1 million vehicles in China in 2015, after failing to clear that sales level and meet last year's target. That means its expected pace of growth in China would almost halve this year, to 6.8 percent.
Japan's top carmaker sold about 1.03 million vehicles in China last year, up 12 percent from 2013.
On Wednesday, Yokoi said the company was still on track to achieve its China sales objective for 2015.
