Low oil prices unlikely to hurt hybrid car sales much: Toyota Korea

Fuel efficiency is one of major factors for people to consider when buying hybrid vehicles, but there are many other elements that could keep customers interested in such environmentally friendly cars that generate less emission and less driving noise, the head of the South Korean unit of Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday.
  

Japanese automaker Toyota Motor is known for its high-profile hybrid models such as the Camry and the Prius. Historically low crude oil prices have been cited as a major downside factor that could drive consumers away from fuel-efficiency car models.
  

"Consumers do not consider purchasing hybrid models just based on fuel efficiency numbers. The satisfaction level is high with such emotional factors as quietness, fast performance and less stress in driving," Akihisa Yoshida, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Korea Co., told a group of reporters in Seoul through a translator.
  

"Fuel efficiency is one factor, but customers purchase hybrid vehicles also based on how much they are satisfied with the interaction of those features," he added.
  

During an earlier press conference where the company announced its business plan in Korea for this year, he said that Toyota Korea will consolidate its leading status in the hybrid market by providing its hybrid line-up as early as possible.    
  

Last year, Toyota and its premium brand Lexus saw the ratio of their hybrid vehicle sales to 56.5 percent. Toyota Korea aims to raise its own hybrid ratio to 40 percent out of its annual car sales target of 7,700 units this year from around 30 percent.
  

Asked if Toyota Korea will actively expand its vehicle line-up in Korea in the face of intensifying competition from other imported car models, he said the company is not pushing for "quantity growth," but focusing more on differentiation through which it can appeal consumers with unique models.
  

"We are not seeking quantity growth. We intend to create differentiated brands," he said. "Providing models with no unique personality would not benefit us in Korea where numerous vehicle brands have already been competing."
  

He said that Korean customers are "very mature" and place more emphasis on high-level features in choosing a car, which led the company to equip its vehicles with better parts and devices, a reason why he said that Toyota is regarded as relatively more expensive than other foreign brands here.
  

"We do not think our models are particularly expensive compared with other competing ones given that we use high-spec parts and devices. They could be more expensive that in other countries, but I think that they provide good devices and features for the price," he said. (Yonhap)