Toyota Motor to expand to China

Toyota Motor to expand to China

TOKYO: Top Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. plans to
increase its affiliated dealerships in China sixfold to about 600
by 2008, a news report said on Monday.

The move is a part of the company's effort to grab a 10
percent market share in China by 2010, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun
said without citing sources.

Toyota will support the new dealerships through the joint
sales firm that it established last November with China FAW Group
Corp, the Nihon Keizai said.

Its rival Nissan Motor Co. also expects to quadruple its
dealerships in China by 2007, the Nihon Keizai said, adding that
Japanese automakers are starting to strengthen their sales
networks in the expanding Chinese auto market.

Toyota currently has slightly more than 100 dealerships in
China mostly located in large cities such as Beijing and
Shanghai, and sold roughly 100,000 vehicles there in 2003 for a
market share of about two percent, it said.

Toyota also plans to beef up its marketing efforts in the
world's most populous country, the Nihon Keizai said. -- AFP