|
Toyota will officially launch its flagship brand in Korea, some 20 years after Korea opened its car market and 36 years since Toyota left Korea after breaking joint venture ties with Shinjin Motor Company in 1972.
Since 2000, when it established Toyota Korea sales outlet, Toyota Motor has been selling only the Lexus luxury brand. But it has delayed launching the non-luxury flagship brand Toyota. The launch of the world leader here is likely to hit not only the import car market but domestic manufacturers too.
Japan's second to fourth-ranking carmakers Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi are already available here, and the entry of Toyota will add stiff competition for Korean automakers in the non-luxury market.
 |
|
Toyota Priuses are on display at a Toyota dealer showroom in Denver, Colorado./AP
|
 |
|
Toyota Motor is expected to announce the launch of its flagship brand in Korea on March 20. A Toyota executive on Wednesday said the firm¡¯s global sales and marketing vice president Tokuichi Uranishi will visit Korea to announce the launch.
Toyota Korea plans to finish recruiting dealers in the first half of this year and start selling Toyotas in April or May next year. Several Korean conglomerates are already reportedly competing with Lexus dealers to win Toyota dealerships. Toyota has decided to sell the medium-sized Camry sedan, the Prius, a semi-medium-sized hybrid car, and semi-medium-sized SUV RAV4.
Toyota was apparently stimulated by the success of its rival Honda. Honda dominates the imported car market based on sales of only three main models, the CR-V, Accord and Civic, selling 7,109 of them last year. It aims to sell more than 9,000 cars in 2008.
"We've decided to advance into the Korean market before its' too late, at a time when following in Honda's footsteps, Nissan and Mitsubishi have already announced their plans to enter the Korean market,¡± the executive said.
That is expected to prompt fierce competition between Korean and Japanese automakers here. In the medium-sized sedan market, the largest car market in Korea, the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Nissan Altima will compete with the Hyundai Sonata, Kia Lotze, and Renault Samsung SM5.
Observers expect a significant shift, given that 1,000 units of Honda's new Accord model were sold only three weeks after it was released early this year. The Toyota RAV4 targets the Honda CR-V but will also threaten Korean SUVs.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
