Toyota ready for European top league
03-23-06, 07:26 AM
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Toyota ready for European top league
Japanese carmaker targets traditional brands, not Koreans
Luca Ciferri | | Automotive News Europe / March 20, 2006 - 6:00 am
GENEVA -- Toyota is confident that it soon will be one of Europe's top five automakers based on unit sales -- thanks to its Yaris and Aygo cars.
Volkswagen, Renault, Ford, Opel/Vauxhall and Peugeot are the only brands selling more than 1 million units in Europe. Toyota refers to them as the Big Five.
"In our reading of the market and of our competitors' actions, we daily monitor just Europe's Big Five," said Thierry Dombreval, Toyota Motor Europe executive vice president.
Toyota is not worried by competition from Korean automakers Hyundai and sister brand Kia, which both plan to increase sales significantly in Europe.
"We are not seeing any customer flux between Toyota and the Koreans yet," Dombreval said.
Toyota aims to sell more than 1 million cars in greater Europe this year, up from 935,431 in 2005. Greater Europe includes the European Union, central Europe, Russia and Turkey.
Helping Toyota to reach its 1 million goal will be the Aygo minicar and Yaris small car.
This year Toyota aims to sell 260,000 units of the Yaris and 100,000 Aygos in greater Europe.
The second-generation Yaris, Toyota's best seller in Europe, went on sale in January.
The Aygo debuted at the 2005 Geneva auto show and was on sale in all European markets by last July.
"We received almost 7,000 orders for the Aygo in January, which puts us on track to sell 100,000 units in 2006," Dombreval said.
About 90 percent of Aygo buyers are new to Toyota, Dombreval said.
Last year, Toyota sold 211,832 Yaris models in greater Europe. Dombreval expects that figure to be 260,000 units this year.
"We have received 60,000 orders [for the car] since January and we are foreseeing a demand higher than our expectations," he said.
Toyota may expand the 270,000-units-a-year capacity at its plant in Valenciennes, France, which is the sole production center for the European Yaris.
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The leaders
Europe's top-selling brands in 2005
1. Volkswagen 1,554,540
2. Renault 1,464,424
3. Opel/Vauxhall 1,366,412
4. Ford 1,256,890
5. Peugeot 1,129,897
6. Citroen 931,367
7. Toyota 818,101*
8. Fiat 736,338
*Toyota sales include Lexus
Source: ACEA
From autonews
Luca Ciferri | | Automotive News Europe / March 20, 2006 - 6:00 am
GENEVA -- Toyota is confident that it soon will be one of Europe's top five automakers based on unit sales -- thanks to its Yaris and Aygo cars.
Volkswagen, Renault, Ford, Opel/Vauxhall and Peugeot are the only brands selling more than 1 million units in Europe. Toyota refers to them as the Big Five.
"In our reading of the market and of our competitors' actions, we daily monitor just Europe's Big Five," said Thierry Dombreval, Toyota Motor Europe executive vice president.
Toyota is not worried by competition from Korean automakers Hyundai and sister brand Kia, which both plan to increase sales significantly in Europe.
"We are not seeing any customer flux between Toyota and the Koreans yet," Dombreval said.
Toyota aims to sell more than 1 million cars in greater Europe this year, up from 935,431 in 2005. Greater Europe includes the European Union, central Europe, Russia and Turkey.
Helping Toyota to reach its 1 million goal will be the Aygo minicar and Yaris small car.
This year Toyota aims to sell 260,000 units of the Yaris and 100,000 Aygos in greater Europe.
The second-generation Yaris, Toyota's best seller in Europe, went on sale in January.
The Aygo debuted at the 2005 Geneva auto show and was on sale in all European markets by last July.
"We received almost 7,000 orders for the Aygo in January, which puts us on track to sell 100,000 units in 2006," Dombreval said.
About 90 percent of Aygo buyers are new to Toyota, Dombreval said.
Last year, Toyota sold 211,832 Yaris models in greater Europe. Dombreval expects that figure to be 260,000 units this year.
"We have received 60,000 orders [for the car] since January and we are foreseeing a demand higher than our expectations," he said.
Toyota may expand the 270,000-units-a-year capacity at its plant in Valenciennes, France, which is the sole production center for the European Yaris.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The leaders
Europe's top-selling brands in 2005
1. Volkswagen 1,554,540
2. Renault 1,464,424
3. Opel/Vauxhall 1,366,412
4. Ford 1,256,890
5. Peugeot 1,129,897
6. Citroen 931,367
7. Toyota 818,101*
8. Fiat 736,338
*Toyota sales include Lexus
Source: ACEA
From autonews
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