Japan's top car maker Toyota Motor Corp has predicted its sales in China will grow by more than 50 percent this year and remain on the fast track next year.

The group expects to sell 179,000 vehicles in China this year, up 54 percent from 2004, said Yoshimi Inaba, Toyota's executive vice-president and board member.

"Our sales in China will outpace the growth of China's entire car market significantly next year," Inaba said.

He predicted the car market in China would expand by more than 20 percent in 2006 from this year.

According to plans revealed by Toyota's two Chinese ventures, the group's sales in China will exceed 250,000 vehicles next year.

Toyota's venture with First Automotive Works Corp (FAW), China's biggest vehicle manufacturer, aims to sell 200,000 vehicles in 2006, up from more than 150,000 units expected this year.

Toyota's venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group, China's No 6 carmaker, plans to sell 50,000 to 60,000 units of the new Camry. The venture, which now has an annual production capacity of 100,000 units, will launch the new car in June.

Toyota, which is expected to outstrip General Motors (GM) as the world's biggest automaker next year, still lags behind many global rivals in China in terms of sales, such as Volkswagen, Honda and Hyundai.

Asked when Toyota will surpass GM in China, Inaba said:"That is a long-distance race and we are only in the first round of it."

GM and Volkswagen are currently the top two foreign car manufacturers in China. In the first half of this year, GM sold 308,722 vehicles in China, while Volkswagen sold 262,198 models.

Toyota aims to lift its market share in China to 10 percent by 2010 from the 3 percent it has now. Some analysts said the firm could do well.

"Compared with its rivals, Toyota has many more products that are suitable for the Chinese market, such as the Reiz and the new Camry," said Jia Xinguang with the China Automotive Industry Consulting and Development Corp.

Toyota is also one of the world's most profitable car makers and can boost sales by cutting costs, Jia said.

"But it appears not in haste to do so. It is apparently seeking a good balance between profitability and market share in China as it is doing in the world's other major markets," he said.

Industry statistics show the total sales of made-in-China cars grew by 11 percent year-on-year to 4.59 million units in the first 10 months of this year.

(China Daily November 29, 2005)