FAW Toyota posts strong H1 result, kicks off used car sales

Shanghai. August 21 (Gasgoo.com) –-FAW Toyota Motor Co., a joint venture between Toyota and the Chinese automaker FAW posts its better-than-expected interim report last Saturday.

During the first six months of 2007, FAW Toyota sold 111,000 units of new cars, 7 percent higher than the target set earlier this year. Almost all the models produced by the company gained an increase compared with last year.

Compared with the same period last year, sales of Toyota Crown sedans rose 34 percent; Vios 41 percent; Prado 74 percent. The automaker released revamped Corolla in late May, and had received orders of 36,500 units by the end of July, which triples the old-version Corolla's order volume.

To meet the growing demand, FAW Toyota revised its full-year forecast for 2007---from 260,000 units to 270,000 units, and Tianjin FAW Toyota, a subsidiary of FAW Toyota, will implement a double shift operation this October ahead of schedule.

FAW Toyota also geared up as China's second-hand car market grew. The company has developed "SMILE confirmed second-hand car program", that collects used cars confirmed by Toyota's technicians from the trade-in shops, and these cars will be sold at the franchised stores.

FAW Toyota's first second-hand car store will be open next month in the costal city of Ningbo, and nine more such stores will be set up in the near future. FAW Toyota aims to expand the circulation of its second-hand cars, setting an annual sales target of 10,000 units by 2011.