BEIJING -- Chinese new car sales for Toyota Motor Corp. in 2019 came to 1.62 million units, surpassing Japanese sales for the first time since the automaker started exporting cars to China in 1964, after the end of World War II.
The figure for 2019, which was the total for both Toyota and the Lexus luxury brand, was up 9% from the previous year, contributing to a record high for the seventh consecutive year.
This pushed China to second place in new car sales by country after the United States, the company's largest market for such sales. As a result, Japan fell to third place as sales in 2019 reached about 1.61 million.
New car sales in China last year are expected to have reduced by around 8% from the previous year due to a lingering sales slump caused by economic slowdown. However, sales of Toyota cars such as its Camry flagship sedan remained strong. In the process of introducing tighter emissions controls, their high environmental performance and other functions likely attracted consumers. In addition, the fact that Toyota cars are less likely to break down and attract relatively high trade-in prices seems to have given it a strong reputation in China, where the used car market is growing.
Although it is indispensable for the carmaker to beef up sales in China in order to grow in the future, car sales in the Chinese market are affected by political factors. In fact, the number of Japanese car sales plummeted in 2012 when a series of anti-Japanese demonstrations was held. Because the Chinese market is increasingly affecting automakers' management as a whole, more attention should be paid to risk management.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
