Vehicles, that is.
As an extension to the post Europe new battleground for
U.S. and Asian automakers, Toyota Motor Company sold 964,000 units combined between its Toyota and Lexus brands
in Europe last year. And with its revamped RAV-4 and Yaris, the automaker’s most popular vehicles, it expects to
sell one million or more vehicles this year. For reference, 2005 marked the 9th year in a row that the second
largest automaker in world’s sales rose in Europe, where it currently holds 5.1% market share.
According to analyst Noriyuki Matsushima of the Nikko Citigroup, “Toyota’s expansion of its global production
network in Europe, North America, Asia and elsewhere is beginning to produce results, and we anticipate considerable
earnings contributions in the coming years.
But with the German automakers releasing a brace of new
vehicles, and Lexus struggling to gain a foothold in Europe, the company knows it won’t be smooth
sailing.
[Source: BBC News]