Toyota To Roll Out Corollas In China Soon

BEIJING -February 10, 2004; Dow Jones reported that Toyota Motor (China) Corp. said Corolla sedans will soon be rolled out of its workshop in the port city of Tianjin as part of a goal to gain a 10% market share in China by 2010, state media reported.

The Corollas will hit the market nationwide "shortly afterwards," the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Tuesday, citing a company spokesman.

It didn't specify a timeframe for the roll-out and sale of the sedan.

"Toyota Motor Corp. is hoping to snatch 10% of the car market on the Chinese mainland by the year 2010," the spokesman said in the report.

"The China version of Corolla cars is one of the most important steps toward realizing this strategic goal."

Market prices for the 1.6-liter and 1.8-liter Corollas are estimated at between 170,000 and 180,000 yuan ($1=CNY8.28) each, the spokesman said.

The Corolla will be the second Toyota car to be directly produced in China following the company's Vios cars, said the report.