Toyota plans China sales push to win buyers

Toyota Motor Corp. on Friday plans to begin a major new sales campaign in China in an effort to bring customers rattled by the company's recall crisis back into showrooms, part of a broader push to shore up its reputation in the world's biggest auto market.

The campaign will involve a combination of sales incentives, including zero-percent loans, free insurance and fuel, and roadside service, a Toyota spokesman said. It reflects the seriousness of a slowdown in its China sales since late January, when Toyota began announcing recalls of vehicles to fix faulty accelerator pedals and other problems. The company has recalled more than eight million vehicles world-wide.

Toyota's quality issues so far haven't been as severe in China as in the U.S. and some other markets. In China, Toyota recalled 75,552 RAV4 vehicles because of the gas-pedal problem. On Monday, the company said its sales in China, despite the crisis, grew 30% in February from a year earlier to 45,400 vehicles.

But those figures include deliveries of cars ordered earlier, says a Beijing-based sales and marketing executive with Toyota. The executive said the latest strong number was largely an "echo" of sales made before February but delivered during February. "Customers orders are very sluggish" currently, the executive said, adding that many dealers began offering discounts last month on certain slow-moving vehicles on their own.

The new nationwide campaign follows a visit to China earlier this week by Toyota President Akio Toyoda to reassure consumers and officials of the company's commitment to safety and quality.

During that visit, Masahiro Kato, a top China-based Toyota sales and marketing executive, told reporters Toyota "has been getting an unusually large number of complaints from customers" since late January and may need to sweeten deals to spur sales.

Hitoshi Yokoyama, a Beijing-based Toyota spokesman, said the new incentives will mostly last through the end of this month.