Masahiro Kato, general manager of Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd., lately announced that the sales target of Toyota Motor Corporation in China for 2010 was more than 800,000 vehicles, only rising 12.8% from a year earlier.
Analysts believe that the growth rate of Toyota's Chinese operations is very conservative this year compared with the figure in the same period of last year.
To Toyota's archrivals, the worldwide recall is an opportunity to snatch market share from the automobile giant. By far, General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, and Hyundai Motor Company have promoted favorable policies to attract Toyota's customers.
It has been nearly three weeks since Toyota kicked off the large-scale recall in the US. Some believe that the event will bring losses of USD 1.8 billion to the auto giant.
Reporters find out that more than five 4S stores of Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. suffered from withering orders in January 2010. However, their sales managers consider that the phenomenon results from supply shortages, and has nothing to do with the recall.
Some customers still support the brand of Toyota, since most of the car models sold in China have not been involved in the recall, pointed out one of them.
However, there are indeed some buyers who decide to change their plans and purchase other brands. One of them discloses that the recall has dampened the confidence of his families in Toyota.
Although Toyota only recalled RAV4 in China, owners of other car models under the aegis of the auto giant are also concerned about the progress of the event. One of them, driving a Corolla, says that the situation would be better if Toyota could propose solutions ahead of its customers.
He thinks that Toyota is still passive in launching the recall and there are larger risks in the domestic market. Two or three of his friends have given up their plans to purchase RAV4 and Corolla.
In 2009, Toyota's Chinese sales were the lowest in the past 31 years. The main reason is the quality of its car models. Besides, the irresponsible attitude of Toyota's joint venture 4S stores toward their vehicles that have problems also shakes the confidence of their customers.
The problem is far from over. On February 9, Toyota announced that it would recall four hybrid car models in its headquarters of Japan, including the third-generation Prius. Their total number reaches 223,000 vehicles. The reason is that the braking systems of the car models have safety hazard.
