Toyota to sell cars in Korea next year

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-largest automaker, will begin selling Toyota brand cars in Korea next year, challenging Hyundai Motor Co.'s dominance of the market.
The automaker will introduce the Camry sedan, RAV4 sport utility vehicle and Prius hybrid car, with the aim of selling 500 vehicles a month, it said yesterday. Toyota already sells luxury Lexus brand cars in South Korea, Asia's fourth-biggest economy.
Sales of foreign cars in Korea surged at seven times the pace of domestic models last year, led by demand for Honda Motor Co.'s CR-V sport utility vehicle. With the introduction of mid-range models, Toyota aims to win customers from Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors Corp., which account for about three-quarters of the country's auto sales.
"The launch of the Japanese carmakers' flagship models will give Hyundai a hard time," said Kim Jae-woo, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities Co. in Seoul. "The introduction of these cars will leave Hyundai little room for price hikes in its most profitable market." Kim rates Hyundai as "buy."
Imported cars accounted for 5.1 percent of Korean auto sales last year, with luxury sedans from Lexus, Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti brand and Honda accounting for a third.
"The imported vehicle market is a tiny portion of overall sales in Korea, but the growth is phenomenal," Hirofumi Yokoi, an analyst at CSM Worldwide, said by phone from Tokyo.
Adding cars in Korea may help Toyota in its bid to surpass General Motors Corp. as the world's biggest carmaker. The company aims to boost global sales 5 percent this year, amid slowing demand in the United States and Japan.
Nissan, Japan's third-biggest carmaker, and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. both plan to introduce cars under their main brands in Korea this year. Honda brand vehicles entered the market in 2004.
(Bloomberg) 2008.03.21


Summary>
Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-largest automaker, will begin selling Toyota brand cars in Korea next year. The automaker will introduce the Camry sedan, RAV4 sport utility vehicle and Prius hybrid car, with the aim of selling 500 vehicles a month. With the introduction of mid-range models, Toyota aims to win customers from Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors Corp., which account for about three-quarters of the country's auto sales.
Adding cars in Korea may help Toyota in its bid to surpass General Motors Corp. as the world's biggest carmaker. Nissan, Japan's third-biggest carmaker and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. both plan to introduce cars under their main brands in Korea this year.

Opinion>
It seems that Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. have no way to survival. They make lower quality cars than Toyota, and more expensive cars than Chinese automakers.
Now that they get between Japanese and Chinese carmakers, they can breathe no more. So, they should invest on R&D drastically. It will be impossible to get enough results in a short time. Otherwise, they will be behind Japanese and Chinese automakers.
How about introducing JIT(Just In Time) system of Toyota? Toyota relies on the assemble-to-order system instead of the prediction of demands. This system helped Toyota reduce production time and the cost of maintaining materials and finished cars in inventory, while increasing customer service and satisfaction.
Also, creative and impressive commercials can carve their brand on customers’ mind. Car commercials made in Korea are all same. A car is driving on the road of a big city, and a man explains how this car is high-performance. But Toyota is different. It is funny and fresh like a SITCOM, advertising superiority of their products.

20600613 Jeon, Hyejin