Tianjin FAW Xiali Automobile Co. Ltd., the Chinese joint venture partner of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., announced Thursday it slashed prices on four of its three-box models by up to 10,000 yuan (US$1,200), the second price cut in less than four months.

It cut the prices for its TJ7101AU and TJ7101AUPT models by 10,000 yuan, or more than 20 percent, to 39,800 yuan and 37,800 yuan respectively, making them the first three-box sedans priced below 40,000 yuan in the Chinese market.

It also lowered the price for its TJ7131AU model by 5.19 percent to 54,800 yuan and the price for TJ7101A by 10.05 percent to 35,800 yuan.

The move was designed to help it recover from the country's slowing passenger car market, the automaker said, adding its price cut about four months ago had been "yielding results."

The company axed its auto prices by up to 11 percent in August after reporting a dismal 78.8 percent profit plunge for the first half of this year.

Its net profit for the six-month period slumped to 74.9 million yuan from 352.4 million yuan a year earlier, while its sales volume recorded a meager growth of 6.1 percent to reach 59,302 units.

Xiali's sales had been rebounding right after the price cut and the launching of its new compact N3 in early August, a company spokesman said.

Its sales picked up to 10,829 units in September and 12,980 in October from 8,999 in August, an average monthly growth of more than 20 percent.

(Shenzhen Daily November 26, 2004)