Toyota Camry tops China '08 registered sedans

Shanghai, January 6 (Gasgoo.com) Data from China's traffic authorities show that more than 147,000 Camry sedans made by GAC Toyota were registered for licenses in 2008. The China-made Camry topped the sedan registration rankings again after 2007, said sina.com today.

In December, 16,782 Camry sedans were registered for license plates, making the Toyota sedan brand the best-seller leading its closest rival by 2,680 units, bringing the full-year number of registered Camry sedans to 146,872 units, and retaining its title of China's best-selling mid- to high-end sedans in 2008. Camry grabbed this champion title from Honda Accord in 2007.

GAC Toyota, a joint venture between Guangzhou Auto and Toyota Motor, launched the locally made Camry to the Chinese market in June 2006. Although its novelty was fading out last year, the Toyota Camry managed to overtake many newly launched models of its kind amid the financial crisis and led the sales in China’s sedan market.

Industry analysts said that the number of vehicles registered for licenses can more exactly reflect the retail sales of the vehicle model or brand. As the best-seller for two straight years, GAC Toyota's Camry has won its victory in the sedan retail market at the user end. The joint venture launched its 2009 Camry G-Series models on September 22, 2008.

The excellent sales achievements of GAC Toyota Camry suggest that the "brand, quality, service" -- the three competitive factors in the global market, is coming to decide the success in China's auto industry. After several years of rapid growth, the Chinese auto market has started to get global.