Toyota rises in declining European car market

[RAV4EVR]

HA.....................
PLEASE DO NOT CRY...



http://uk.reuters.com/article/motori...54128520070315

PARIS (Reuters) - Toyota continued to increase sales in Europe in February in a declining overall market, the ACEA association of European car makers said on Thursday.
Toyota, the world's largest car maker by market value, said it did not make use of the weak Yen to offer lower prices in the European market and its rise contrast with a sales decline by other Japanese brands such as Nissan and Mazda.
http://uk.reuters.com/resources/r/?m...i=469426&w=160
Total European car sales were down 2.5 percent to 1,083,811 passenger cars in February, and they slipped 0.3 percent over the first two months of 2007, against a year ago.
In the enlarged 27-member European Union, to which ACEA added new members Romania and Bulgaria for the first time in February, new car registrations were down 2.8 percent.
Toyota was the biggest gainer, up 13.1 percent in February and up 17.4 percent in the first two months of 2007 in the European Union and EFTA countries. Nissan, Mazda and Renault fell by more than 10 percent.
"We put focus on quality and our models are tailored to European customers," a spokesman for Toyota said. "The exchange rate is volatile and does not enter in our commercial policy." he added.
Toyota makes 70 percent of the cars it sells in Europe in European factories such as Valenciennes in France.


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[Tideland Prius]

everyone's blaming the weak Yen as the reason Toyota is winning.

I don't know where you buy your Toyotas but our Canadian Toyotas ain't cheap. They're pricier than the Honda, Nissan, Mazda alternatives. (and of course naturally more expensive than the domestics)

[Lasse D]

The same here in Europe. Not only is Toyota one of the more expensive brands to purchase from, but it is also rare that you find campaign models from Toyota - it mostly happens right before a completely new model is released (such as the Yaris Soul) while car makers like Fiat is known for having some campaign models almost all the time.

You only have to take a look at the models to find out why Toyota is rising in Europe: Aygo, Yaris, Auris, Verso, Avensis and Rav4 are all very competitive.

[Avalonman]

Toyota's winning??