FAW Toyota aims to sell 500,000 vehicles this year

Shanghai July 22 (Gasgoo.com) FAW Toyota will make big moves in the second half to achieve its full-year sales goal of 500,000 vehicles, a sales executive of the joint venture said yesterday at the Changchun auto fair, media reported.

Industry data show that in the first half of the year, FAW Toyota's vehicle sales grew 44% from a year earlier to 238,000 units, including 110,000 units of the Corolla series and 47,000 units of the RAV4 SUVs. Other models also had good sales performance.

On Jun 22, FAW Toyota launched its all-new Prado model with five versions and colors to further consolidate its leading position in China's high-end SUV market (with a retail price above 400,000 yuan). In three weeks after its launch, this new SUV received more than 2,000 orders.

Although its sales volume in the first six months failed to reach half of the full-year sales goal, FAW Toyota will have a series of big initiatives to push its sales in the second half far beyond 260,000 vehicles, bringing its full-year sales to 500,000 units or more. 

First-half sales at Toyota's another Chinese venture, Guangqi Toyota, soared 68% to top 130,000 units. This joint venture (previously called Guangzhou Toyota) with Guangzhou Auto in southern China mainly produces Toyota's Camry sedan and Highlander SUV.

Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest automaker, said earlier this month that the company will rely on its vehicle quality improvement for expansion and growth in the Chinese auto market, after recent recalls and labor disputes.