Toyota to launch 20 new models by 2016
Toyota Motor Corp. will introduce 20 new models in China over the next three years to boost its business in the Chinese market, a company executive said last week.
Of the 20 new models, two small cars -- a three-box sedan and a hatchback -- will hit the Chinese market in the second half of 2013, said Hiroji Onishi, a senior managing officer in charge of Toyota's China business, in a written statement issued during the Guangzhou auto show.
The three-box sedan will be built at Toyota's joint venture with China FAW Group Corp., while the hatchback will be made at Toyota's partnership with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.
Onishi didn't disclose further details about the new models his company will launch in China from 2013 to 2015.
Sales plunge
Due to anti-Japanese sentiment caused by a territorial dispute between China and Japan, Toyota reported that its China sales tumbled 44 percent year-on-year to 45,600 units in October.
Deliveries from July through September period tumbled 23 percent, Toyota's biggest quarterly drop on record, according to company data stretching back to 2002.
Onishi acknowledged that Toyota is having "a difficult time" in China. "As you all know, we are working with our partners to strive to overcome the temporary difficulties we have met," he said.
Meanwhile, a Nissan executive says showroom traffic at its Chinese dealerships have recovered to last year's levels. Orders for new cars are running at 80 percent of year-ago sales, said Hideki Kimata, senior vice president of Dongfeng Motor Co., Nissan's Chinese joint venture.
Nissan's commitment to China hasn't changed and the automaker wants to assure consumers that the brand is "safe and secure," Kimata said.
The three-box sedan will be built at Toyota's joint venture with China FAW Group Corp., while the hatchback will be made at Toyota's partnership with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.
Onishi didn't disclose further details about the new models his company will launch in China from 2013 to 2015.
Sales plunge
Due to anti-Japanese sentiment caused by a territorial dispute between China and Japan, Toyota reported that its China sales tumbled 44 percent year-on-year to 45,600 units in October.
Deliveries from July through September period tumbled 23 percent, Toyota's biggest quarterly drop on record, according to company data stretching back to 2002.
Onishi acknowledged that Toyota is having "a difficult time" in China. "As you all know, we are working with our partners to strive to overcome the temporary difficulties we have met," he said.
Meanwhile, a Nissan executive says showroom traffic at its Chinese dealerships have recovered to last year's levels. Orders for new cars are running at 80 percent of year-ago sales, said Hideki Kimata, senior vice president of Dongfeng Motor Co., Nissan's Chinese joint venture.
Nissan's commitment to China hasn't changed and the automaker wants to assure consumers that the brand is "safe and secure," Kimata said.
