Toyota is to start selling the Prius hybrid and two other models in South Korea next year as it widens its range in the country beyond Lexus.
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“It’s a big challenge for Toyota,” chairman Fujio Cho was quoted by the Associated Press (AP) as saying of the brand’s decision to enter the market. “It’s pretty tough.”
Toyota reportedly said it would begin to set up a dealer network and start selling the Prius, the Camry sedan in petrol and hybrid versions, and the RAV4 during the second half of next year.
Initial sales target is 500 vehicles a month in a market dominated by domestic manufacturers.
Toyota started selling Lexus in Korea in 2001 and sales have risen every year, with 2007 the best to date with 7,520 vehicles sold, the AP report said.
That accounted for 14.1% of the imported car market, just behind BMW (14.3%).
AP noted that Nissan, which already sells Infiniti in South Korea, also plans to begin Nissan brand sales later this year while Mitsubishi Motors plans to enter the market as well.
Honda sold 7,109 vehicles in South Korea last year, the third-largest total for foreign automakers, the Associated Press said.
