SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Toyota and Ford, two of the world's three largest auto makers, reported strong first-half sales in China's fast-growing market, where as relative newcomers they are competing to roll out new models to attract customers. Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T) sold 212,000 vehicles during the period, up 77 percent from a year earlier, powered by brisk demand for its Camry sedans, the best-selling car in the United States in eight of the past nine years.
Toyota, the world's biggest car maker, rolled out its first China-made Camry in May 2006 from a new plant in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, to wrest customers away from competing models such as Honda Motor's (7267.T) Accord.
Sales of the Camry came to nearly 78,000 units, well on track to hit the full-year target of 150,000, or more than one-third of Toyota's total China sales goal of 430,000 vehicles in 2007.
That outpaced 24.6 percent growth for top European auto maker Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile , Research), which entered the China market much earlier and recorded 431,369 vehicle sales in mainland China and Hong Kong from January to June.
Sales leader GM hasn't reported yet, but they are predicting 1 mill for the year, so lets guess around 500000?
Looks like toyota is still gaining strong. It's going to be an interesting battleground. It's also plainly obvious the Chinese are willing to buy Japanese cars.
Great article. Yeah it seems like China and India among others but China for the most part is going to be very hot market, well it already is. I think not only demand but also the huge population, its almost guarenteed that most car makers will do well. I think GM is at the top though, at least for now, for foreign carmaker in China. The Chinese love those Buicks. How ironic, an American Icon doing better in a communist country than its own domestic market? Well China is "cheap" as far as labor and parts so its a gold mine for most manufacturers auto or otherwise. Anyway it will be interesting to see the next 5 to 10 years China could be the auto leader in the world as far as market goes and obviously we all know that China like India among others threaten U.S.economic domince.
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Toyota in China is growing at an astonishing rate. If they keep up such a rate of growth, then Toyota will match the marketshare and sales of GM in China in about 3 years.
Toyota in China is growing at an astonishing rate. If they keep up such a rate of growth, then Toyota will match the marketshare and sales of GM in China in about 3 years.
Toyota was up 92000 incremental units over last year YTD, so lets say 180000 - 200000 for the year.
GM sold 876000 last year and are targeting 1000000 this year. Thats an 124000 incremental units.
Thats a verry possible gain of 75000 units on GM in one year.
Last year toyota sold 308000, GM 876000. Thats a spread of 568,000 units. Toyota could close that gap by almost 14% in one year. That's extremely strong.
I think it will take a few more than 3 years to catch GM though.
Fan
Last edited by toyotafanfan; 07-06-2007 at 05:06 PM.
General Motors, whose sales slid in Canada and took a severe beating in the United States last month, is even starting to fall off the pace a bit in China.
In booming China, not growing as fast as the market amounts to losing ground. And GM just lost some.
GM, which has been a sales juggernaut over there, had expected the Chinese automotive market to grow between 10 and 15 per cent. The company expected to grow by 15 per cent in China this year.
Instead, the go-go Chinese consumer has purchased 20 per cent more vehicles this year than in 2006 -- but only 11.7 per cent more were GM products, according to the company. Meanwhile, Volkswagen, which is GM's main rival in China, saw its sales rise by 24.6 per cent, allowing it to pull farther ahead.
The media always likes to trash anything that's #1...so, get used to it, Toyota's next if/when they surpass GM at the #1 spot globally. (I am talking year end numbers, not YTD numbers).
The media always likes to trash anything that's #1...so, get used to it, Toyota's next if/when they surpass GM at the #1 spot globally. (I am talking year end numbers, not YTD numbers).
Oh they love to trash a loser. GM may be #1 but they are losing sales and $$, that's why they get trashed. Everyone loves the story about the guy who had it all, and through his own foolishness, lost everything. GM is that guy (at least in the media's eyes).
When Toyota starts to lose sales or money, then they will jump on them, but being #1 in the world (which they were in 2006) won't change it yet.
Oh they love to trash a loser. GM may be #1 but they are losing sales and $$, that's why they get trashed. Everyone loves the story about the guy who had it all, and through his own foolishness, lost everything. GM is that guy (at least in the media's eyes).
When Toyota starts to lose sales or money, then they will jump on them, but being #1 in the world (which they were in 2006) won't change it yet.
Fan
They (the media) is already starting to expose Toyota's diminishing quality. Up til now, only recalls or other newsworthy info on GM/F/D made the news. Toyota's went under the radar. That is and will continue to change.
Oh, and BTW, GM is turning things around and Ford will too, mark my words. Hell, even Dodge will, eventually. As much as you'd like to see it (why? I have no idea? please tell me) the Domestics are not going away.
They (the media) is already starting to expose Toyota's diminishing quality. Up til now, only recalls or other newsworthy info on GM/F/D made the news. Toyota's went under the radar. That is and will continue to change.
Oh, and BTW, GM is turning things around and Ford will too, mark my words. Hell, even Dodge will, eventually. As much as you'd like to see it (why? I have no idea? please tell me) the Domestics are not going away.
I've no doubt the domestics are not going away. I hardly ever talked about GM here until you showed up!
The media always likes to trash anything that's #1...so, get used to it, Toyota's next if/when they surpass GM at the #1 spot globally. (I am talking year end numbers, not YTD numbers).
GM lost its title to No.1 at the end of last year. How pathetic is GM ? They have to inflate their numbers to make them look bigger than they are. TOYOTA is the topdog now. GM is just a little chiwuawua compare to TOYOTA.
A little-known Chinese microvan played a role in Toyota's victory," the magazine, published by Crain Communications, said on its website. In its final tally for 2006, GM included the seven-seat microvan and other Wuling-brand vehicles built by a three-way venture with China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) and Liuzhou Wuling Automobile even though it owns less than half of the company, the journal said. Automotive News credited 51 percent-owner SAIC for the 420,140 units the venture sold in 2006, putting GM's global sales at 8,679,860 units in 2006, against 8,808,000 for Toyota. In its ranking, Automotive News Data Center includes sales of a subsidiary in the total for the parent company with the majority stake. GM, which is in the throes of sweeping restructuring but is growing rapidly in China, has claimed the top spot for 76 years, including 2006. In April, Toyota and GM announced sales figures for the first quarter of 2007 which showed the Japanese automaker edging past its U.S. rival by 90,000 units. The news prompted extensive media coverage as the first time ever for the switch at the top.
Either the bean counters at GM are morons or outright liars.
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