Toyota to Boost China Dealerships to 500 by Year-End

Jiji Press reported that Toyota Motor Corp. will increase its number of dealerships in China to a little more than 500 by the year's end from about 400 at present, to achieve its annual auto sales target for China of at least 450,000 units, a Toyota executive said Friday.

Senior Managing Director Akira Sasaki, who oversees Toyota's Chinese operations, unveiled the plan in a speech to an economic forum in Beijing.

Sasaki predicted that the Chinese automobile market, which overtook Japan's in 2006 to become the world's second largest, will register overall sales of nine million units in 2007 and 10 million units in 2010.

Toyota aims to report Chinese sales of one million units in 2010 to capture a 10 pct market share, he said.

Sasaki said Toyota's auto sales in China came to 308,000 units in 2006, making the Asian country the second largest overseas market for the top Japanese automaker. In the United States, Toyota's sales totaled about 2.54 million units.

In January-June 2007, sales in China jumped 77 pct over a year earlier to 212,000 units, according to Sasaki.

Sasaki expressed hopes for the growth potential of the Chinese market. Although an estimated 100 million people in China can afford to buy vehicles, the actual ownership rate is still low, he said.