Toyota, is hoping to make a new comeback in China with the introduction of a newly redesigned entry-level compact car at the Shanghai international auto show. The Chinese auto market is the world’s biggest auto market and Toyota is presently trying to make its mark on it.

Toyota had introduced two compact versions of the Yaris hatchback and the Vios sedan at China’s premier auto show. The Japanese car giant hopes that the new models will set the company’s misjudged strategies right, which had resulted in poor sales in China, in a situation when a territorial dispute between China and Japan, led to the boycott of Japanese brand products last year.

Along with the Japanese companies Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co., Toyota has launched a fleet of new cars at the motor show that are specially meant for the Chinese market.  However, the companies have to get right design as well as price in order to appeal to the young generation of Chinese car consumers.

Toyota Motor hopes to sell 900,000 units in China this year, which is very sober target compared to the previous year’s target of 1 million.

Toyota is hoping that the two new compact models along with the other models like the RAV4 light sport utility vehicle will fetch good amount of sales rates when the cars hit the market later this year. However Toyota might not be able to overcome a vital obstacle that is the price strategy of the Chinese market.
Hiroji Onishi, the head of Toyota’s China operations, commented at the Shanghai auto show Sunday that the company is trying to lower the prices of its models by including increased use of locally sourced parts. He said that Toyota is hoping to meet its targeted lower price strategy. However, the company might not be fully successful to lower the prices much, as he further adds that these cars are totally new, so even if the company is able to cut costs on the cars locally achieved  parts, when the final product comes, to price is really cheap is  is going to be difficult for the company.

At present, the starting price of the Yaris is 87,000 yuan ($14,000), while the Vios is available for 89,500 yuan ($14,500) for its base model. Toyota’s dream to instate itself again in the Chinese car market really depends on whether or not it can achieve prices that are low enough to compete with entry-level compact models from the other rival companies such as the General Motors Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and Nissan. Toyota had definitely failed in the past, which resulted in its bleeding market shares.

Toyota is working closely with the local staff right from the initial development stage of the cars in order to the keep costs low. Mr. Onishi has further said that the sales of the company could recover by the middle of this year post the anti-Japanese sentiments. He says that Toyota has planned many promotions and it is not that the company will not be able to recover.

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