Toyota beats monthly target for WiLL Cypha compact fourfold

TOKYO, November 22, 2002; Lindsay Whipp wrting for Bloomberg reports that Toyota Motor Corp., said orders for the new WiLL Cypha compact car in the first month since its release were more than quadruple its average monthly sales target.

The automaker received 6,500 orders for the compact compared with its 1,500-unit sales goal, Toyota said on its Web site. Customers are mainly in their twenties and thirties, with many opting for the G-book in-car information system as well, the company said. The WiLL Cypha is the first Toyota model to be fitted with the system.

Competition in the Japanese compact car market is intensifying as customers opt for smaller autos, which are more fuel-efficient and make more efficient use of interior space, analysts have said. Japanese car buyers are also for lower-cost models as the country's economy struggles to revive itself.