Toyota sales edge up 3% as shoppers wait for revamped Corolla
Toyota Motor Corp. and its two local joint-venture partners sold 81,100 light vehicles in China in May, up 3 percent from a year earlier.
That followed a 12 percent year-on-year rise in April and a 19 percent increase in March.
Sources with direct knowledge of the data told Reuters earlier on Tuesday that Toyota's China sales growth slowed to 3 percent in May, mainly because sales of the Corolla model in China fell sharply ahead of the launch of the redesigned version this summer.
In the first five months, Japan's biggest automaker sold 394,900 vehicles, up 16 percent from a year earlier.
This year, Toyota aims to sell more than 1.1 million vehicles in China. If accomplished, the carmaker would surpass annual sales of 1 million vehicles in China for the first time, a target it originally aimed for in 2010.
In April, Toyota Executive Vice President Yasumori Ihara said in Beijing that over the longer term the Japanese automaker aims to double annual sales in China to 2 million vehicles, but gave no time frame for the objective.
Last year, Toyota sold 917,500 vehicles in China.
Toyota operates joint ventures in China with China FAW Group Corp and Guangzhou Automobile Group.
Sources with direct knowledge of the data told Reuters earlier on Tuesday that Toyota's China sales growth slowed to 3 percent in May, mainly because sales of the Corolla model in China fell sharply ahead of the launch of the redesigned version this summer.
In the first five months, Japan's biggest automaker sold 394,900 vehicles, up 16 percent from a year earlier.
This year, Toyota aims to sell more than 1.1 million vehicles in China. If accomplished, the carmaker would surpass annual sales of 1 million vehicles in China for the first time, a target it originally aimed for in 2010.
In April, Toyota Executive Vice President Yasumori Ihara said in Beijing that over the longer term the Japanese automaker aims to double annual sales in China to 2 million vehicles, but gave no time frame for the objective.
Last year, Toyota sold 917,500 vehicles in China.
Toyota operates joint ventures in China with China FAW Group Corp and Guangzhou Automobile Group.
