Toyota Aims to Enter China's Electric Vehicle Market

As Toyota Motor Corp. Vice Chairman Katsuaki Watanabe spoke at an international industry conference in Chengdu, China, he revealed the company's plans to enter the Chinese electric vehicle market. Noting that the automaker is already on track to enter the broader electric vehicle market in 2012, Watanabe stated that Toyota is "favorably considering a move into China as well." The company is expected to launch an electric vehicle in China, with a subcompact model initially being imported from Japan before shifting to local production.

Key Takeaways:

• Toyota plans to launch an electric vehicle in China, with a subcompact model being the initial offering.
• The company will initially import the vehicles from Japan and later shift to local production.
• Sales will focus on cities with infrastructure for recharging the vehicles.
• Toyota also plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid based on the Prius, with sales beginning on a trial basis in China this year.
• The company aims to quickly move to a full-scale launch after gathering data and improving the model based on local consumer preferences.
• Toyota's Chinese sales of green cars will be bolstered by incorporating local consumer preferences into the electric and plug-in models.
• Local automakers such as Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. are also developing electric cars for the Chinese market.
• Nissan plans to roll out an electric vehicle in China next year, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. in 2012.
• The Chinese government has allocated 100 billion yuan (US$14.872 billion) to promote cars that run on fuels other than gasoline through 2020.
• The government envisions 5 million such vehicles on the road by 2020.

Statistics:

• Toyota aims to launch an electric vehicle in China in the near future.
• The company will initially sell 300 vehicles in China this year.
• The Chinese government expects to allocate 100 billion yuan (US$14.872 billion) to promote electric vehicles through 2020.
• The government envisions 5 million electric vehicles on the road by 2020.
• China will be the largest market for electric vehicles in the world.

Sources:

• Toyota Motor Corp.
• Nikkei
• Asia Pulse
• Mitsubishi Motors Corp.