Toyota Motor's 2010 China Car Sales May Overtake Europe's for First Time

Toyota Motor's 2010 China Car Sales May Overtake Europe's for First Time The Japanese automaker and rivals including General Motors Co. and Nissan Motor Co. are expanding in China as economic growth boosts buying in the world’s largest vehicle market. Passenger-car deliveries in China accelerated in August, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Sept. 9, and sales in the nation are on course to outstrip the U.S. for a second year. Toyota’s China sales still lag behind those in North America and Japan.

The automaker, based in Toyota City, Japan, slipped 0.5 percent to 3,060 yen as of the 11 a.m. trading break in Tokyo. Verso, Wish To boost sales, Toyota plans to make its Verso and Wish compact minivans in China with local in 2011, and will also import the luxury Alphard, a larger minivan, Marvin Zhu, a senior analyst at J.D. Power & Associates, said in a report this month. The Verso will be produced with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. in Guangdong province, while the Wish will be manufactured with China FAW Group Corp, Shanghai-based Zhu said.

Industry-wide vehicle sales in western Europe will dip 8.2 percent this year to 12.5 million units, the lowest figure since 1995, according to consulting company IHS Automotive. Sales will likely be little changed next year, according to Ian Fletcher, an IHS analyst in London. The decline is largely due to the end of government incentives in countries including Germany, the U.K. and Italy, which prompted many consumers to push forward their purchases, Fletcher said.