Toyota to hike prices of some models by 1-3%

Shanghai, August 20 (Gasgoo.com) Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp will raise prices of hybrid cars and commercial vehicles by 1-3% in its home market later this year amid soaring raw material costs, reported Japanese media recently. The report didn't mention whether the prices of Toyota vehicles will be raised in China.
 
Toyota would not mark up the prices of mainstay models such as the Corolla and Crown sedans, fearing across-the-board price increases would further affect domestic demand, which is already weakening in Japan.

From January to June, Toyota's China sales fell short of half of the 700,000-unit target for 2008, which suggests the Japanese carmaker is unlikely to raise prices of its vehicles, imported or locally made, for sale in the Chinese market.

Toyota's two joint ventures in China sold 284,000 vehicles in the first half of this year, up around 47% from a year earlier, according to data from China Passenger Car Association. FAW Toyota sold 200,194 vehicles and Guangzhou Toyota sold 83,813 units in the six-month period.

Toyota will officially announce the price hike later this month, and it will likely affect models such as the Prius hybrid car and the Dyna truck. The decision of Toyota to raise prices may encourage Nissan Motor and other rivals to follow the suit.