Shanghai. March 14 (Gasgoo.com) - Toyota's popular compact sedan Yaris will be released at Beijing Auto Show on April 20 and launched in Chinese market simultaneously, China's Jinhua newspaper reported today.
The company said it plans to sell 35,000 Yaris vehicles this year in Chinese market or approximately 6,000 vehicles a month.
"Considering the sales potential of the model, the 35,000 sales target for 2008 is not a difficult one," said Feng Yaxin, deputy general manager of Guangzhou Toyota sales department.
Toyota Yaris is one of Toyota's most successful models in term of sales. Since the model goes on sale in 1999, a total amount of 3 million units have been sold out globally, including 1.6 million in European markets.
Feng said Guangzhou Toyota plans to sell 210,000 vehicles in 2008, including 175,000 Camry vehicles and 35,000 Yaris vehicles.
Currently Guangzhou Toyota produce both Yaris and Camry. A total of 12,184 Camry vehicles were sold last month, making the model sales champion in China's mid range car segment for 15 consecutive months.
Last November, Chinese authorities have approved Guanghou Toyota's plan to build a second plant in Guangzhou. The total capacity of Guangzhou Toyota, after the completion of the second plant, will reach half a million units annually.
The compact hatchback to be launched in Chinese market in April will come in two versions based on different displacement: a 1.3L engine and a 1.5L engine. And the model will be priced at a range of 60,000 yuan to 80,000 yuan ($8,000-$10,000).
Toyota aims to sell 35,000 Yaris in China this year