FAW-Toyota not to change sales target for 2008

Shanghai, September 1 (Gasgoo.com) FAW-Toyota, Toyota's joint venture with China's FAW Group Corp, said it will maintain its sales target of 420,000 vehicles for 2008 despite bad first-half sales, Shanghai Securities News reported today, citing sources.

Top authorities of FAW-Toyota are confident that the Chinese auto market will keep rising for a long time, saying that the auto market in China currently is experiencing a short adjustment period on the rising road and the market is expected to regain growth by the third quarter of this year or next year.

In late August, Toyota motor lowered its global sales target for 2009 to 9.7 million vehicles from 10.4 million, which includes sales of Toyota vehicles,  Daihatsu and Profia vehicles under Toyota.

However, Toyota still keeps sales target unchanged for Chinese market. FAW-Toyota sold 250,000 vehicles in China for the first eight months this year, gaining 7% market share in China's passenger car market. Although the company will be under great pressure in the second half, FAW-Toyota is still confident of reaching its annual sales target, the company's vice sales director told the newspaper.

He said China's auto market will turn better from this September as a traditional " Golden September" and "Silver October" are coming (the Chinese term means peak sales season) and consumers will acquire an ample reward by the end of the year. A good prospect in the auto market surely will come in 2009 even though the market is hard to revive due to economic downturn this year.