Cologne, Germany - A German government car scrappage scheme
has brought German sales of Toyota cars back on track after a crash
in sales last year, a company spokeswoman confirmed in Cologne on
Monday.
New registrations of Toyota-brand cars rose nearly 43 per cent
year-on-year to 37,874 in the first quarter, well ahead of overall
auto sales in Germany, which rose 18 per cent, largely because of the
cash bonus for buyers who trade-in an old car.
Last week, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association (JAMA)
branch in Frankfurt said the bonus had pushed up Japanese-brand car
sales in Germany by one third.
Confirming a report in the weekly Automobilwoche, the spokeswoman
said Toyota was aiming for a market share in Germany above 3.8 per
cent in 2009 after making do with 3.1 per cent last year.
Last year, Toyota sales in Germany tumbled 27 per cent to fewer
than 97,000 new registrations, with the company attributing this to
both the financial downturn and a lack of new models in 2008.
'It was obvious we were going to pour on the power this year,
Toyota Germany chief Alain Uyttenhoven was quoted saying in
Automobilwoche. He said Toyota would offer Europeans six completely
new models this year and six makeovers of existing models.
He said Toyota had been particularly successful with its city car,
the iQ, and with its range of small cars.
'We have been doubly lucky, because they came out just at the time
the scrappage bonus was introduced, and because smaller cars are in
greater demand now than ever,' he was quoted saying.
To encourage new-car sales, the German government is paying owners
of old cars 2,500 euros (3,300 dollars) in subsidy to send them to
the wrecker. The scheme is costing Germany 5 billion euros.
First-quarter new registrations of all Japanese brands in Germany
were just under 120,000 vehicles, 31 per cent more than in the
comparable quarter of last year, JAMA said last week.
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