Toyota may fail reduced '08 China sales target

Shanghai, December 24 (Gasgoo.com) Toyota Motor Corp may not able to meet its reduced target of automobile sales in the Chinese market this year, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Wednesday.

"The market itself is slowing down and our sales target may not be achieved by the year end," said Jiang Jizhe, deputy general manager of GAC Toyota Motor Co, a joint venture between Guangzhou Auto and Toyota Motor.

FAW Toyota, Toyota Motor Corp's biggest car venture in China, said they would announce their sales results at an appropriate time but is confident of gaining bigger market share this year.

Toyota Motor Corp has cut its automobile sales forecast for China by 100,000 vehicles to 600,000 this year in mid-November but now it seems this revised target is also difficult to reach.

The previous 100,000 more vehicles would have represented 40 percent year-on-year growth, but the gain would be 20 percent in the latter goal.

Toyota sold 475,000 cars China in the first 10 months of 2008, up 23 percent from a year earlier.