Toyota Motor Korea, which saw a stunning sales recovery here last year, is eyeing another big leap in 2013.
“I will never forget the year 2012,” said Tommy H. Nakabayashi, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Korea, during a press conference held at a Seoul dealership on Wednesday.
“We made all-out efforts to revive sluggish car sales after the devastating earthquake in 2011. As a result, we posted a 73 percent growth in sales.”
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Toyota Motor Korea CEO Tommy H. Nakabayashi speaks during a press conference held at a Seoul dealership on Wednesday. (Toyota Motor Korea) |
The Korean unit of the Japanese carmaker sold 10,795 Toyota cars and 4,976 Lexus vehicles last year ― 115 percent and 21 percent growth, respectively, compared to 2011.
Its Camry sedan, in particular, was one of the three best-selling cars last year, being named the Korea Car of the Year for the first time as a foreign brand car.
“Korea is a market where our global rivals ― Korea’s Hyundai and Kia, Japan’s Honda and Nissan and German carmakers ― are competing fiercely. We are learning lessons here for our competition in other global markets,” the Korean chief said.
He also stressed that Toyota will play a leading role in elevating consumer awareness toward environment-friendly cars in Korea through its hybrid lineups that made up 37 percent of its car sales last year.
This year Toyota has set a sales goal of 18,000 vehicles, including 11,000 in Toyota and 7,000 in Lexus, with new models, such as the Lexus IS, the Rav4 and the Avalon awaiting Korean launches in the coming months.
Despite the weakening trend of the Japanese yen, the company said it does not plan to make major changes in its pricing policy.
“Several factors should be considered for car pricing. We will not lower car prices just because of the weak yen,” said Mikio Hayashi, managing director of Toyota Motor Korea.
“We will focus more on variations of product models in order to better respond to the various demands from customers.”
Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda also delivered a surprise video message to the Korean media during the press event on Wednesday.
“When I visited Korea last year for the new launch of the Camry, I thought all the vehicles running on the road seemed very sophisticated at the time and hoped one of them would be the new Camry,” he said.
“I was very surprised to hear that the Camry won the Car of the Year honor in Korea. I felt great support from Korean people,” he said in the video.
By Lee Ji-yoon (
jylee@heraldcorp.com)
