Deadpool
08-08-2000, 09:16 AM
REUTERS
TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. plans to
launch 10 or more new or full model change
vehicles both in 2001 and 2002, a senior
company executive said on Monday.
"This year, when you count major model
changes or completely new cars, we will have
over 10 and next year we will likely have
more," Executive Vice President Kosuke
Yamamoto said in an interview.
"The year after next will probably be the same,"he said.
Toyota, the world's third-largest automaker
and by far the dominant automaker in Japan,
has seen its dominance grow over the past year with a swathe of new products such as its popular sub-compact Vitz and derivative
vehicles.
An absence of new products from domestic
rival Nissan Motor Co. so far this year has also helped Toyota sit comfortably with over 40 percent of Japanese market share.
Yamamoto's remarks should help quell fears
among some analysts that Toyota's product
pipeline had reached a peak with this year's
model offerings, which include the last of the Vitz series, the bB minivan and a full model change for the Corolla -- its mainstay sedan. With 10 or more models each year for at least the next two years, Toyota could be positioned to fend off challenges from Nissan and Honda Motor Co., both of which have announced aggressive product strategies.
Nissan, as part of its a drastic three-year
reform plan, aims to launch 22 new models
over the next three years.
Honda is targeting 20 new or full model-change
vehicles "in the near future," concentrating on the recreational vehicle and mini-vehicle
segments.Yamamoto declined to provide many details about particular auto segments Toyota is argeting, saying only that the automaker hoped to develop new concept cars both large and small and would maintain its broad product spectrum.
Some of the 10 models each year would share
the same platform -- the car underbody often including key engine and transmission
components -- although he declined to
comment on how many platforms Toyota
intended to have in its product lineup.
Toyota realizes wat Nissan is gonna do so it better be prepared.
TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. plans to
launch 10 or more new or full model change
vehicles both in 2001 and 2002, a senior
company executive said on Monday.
"This year, when you count major model
changes or completely new cars, we will have
over 10 and next year we will likely have
more," Executive Vice President Kosuke
Yamamoto said in an interview.
"The year after next will probably be the same,"he said.
Toyota, the world's third-largest automaker
and by far the dominant automaker in Japan,
has seen its dominance grow over the past year with a swathe of new products such as its popular sub-compact Vitz and derivative
vehicles.
An absence of new products from domestic
rival Nissan Motor Co. so far this year has also helped Toyota sit comfortably with over 40 percent of Japanese market share.
Yamamoto's remarks should help quell fears
among some analysts that Toyota's product
pipeline had reached a peak with this year's
model offerings, which include the last of the Vitz series, the bB minivan and a full model change for the Corolla -- its mainstay sedan. With 10 or more models each year for at least the next two years, Toyota could be positioned to fend off challenges from Nissan and Honda Motor Co., both of which have announced aggressive product strategies.
Nissan, as part of its a drastic three-year
reform plan, aims to launch 22 new models
over the next three years.
Honda is targeting 20 new or full model-change
vehicles "in the near future," concentrating on the recreational vehicle and mini-vehicle
segments.Yamamoto declined to provide many details about particular auto segments Toyota is argeting, saying only that the automaker hoped to develop new concept cars both large and small and would maintain its broad product spectrum.
Some of the 10 models each year would share
the same platform -- the car underbody often including key engine and transmission
components -- although he declined to
comment on how many platforms Toyota
intended to have in its product lineup.
Toyota realizes wat Nissan is gonna do so it better be prepared.