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Toyota wants to dominate with Vios

Cornering the market * Hotai sold 13,485 Tercels last year, accounting for 37.45 percent of local small-car market share. * With Vios, Hotai plans to sell 2,000 1.5-liter sedans per month, accounting for 50 percent of the small-car market. * With a down payment of around NT$50,000, Vios buyers can sign up for a payment program lasting for up to 60 months. * Taiwan, China and Thailand manufacture Vios for Toyota.

Toyota Motor Corp, the world's third-largest automaker, introduced its new Vios sedan to the local market over the weekend, aiming to lead the small-car segment in Taiwan.

Toyota's local sales agent, Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), said it plans to sell around 2,000 of the 1.5-liter sedans per month to account for 50 percent of market share in this segment this year, according to Hotai President Chen Shuen-der (陳順德).

"We want Vios to replace the seven-year-old Tercel while continuing to dominate Taiwan's small-car market," Chen said Saturday.

Hotai sold 13,485 Tercels last year, accounting for 37.45 percent of share, amid competition from Yulon Motor Co's (裕隆汽車) 1.3-liter Nissan March, Formosa Automobile Corp's (台塑汽車) 800cc Matiz and other compact vehicles, according to Chen.

Ford Lio Ho Motor Co (福特六和) and Mazda Taiwan released their remodeled 1.6-liter sedans last week, wooing customers with comparatively low prices and added interior features.

China Motor Co (中華汽車) recently knocked as much as NT$20,000 off the sticker price of its 1.6-liter Lancer sedans.

Ford Lio Ho said it aims to sell 750 Activa W6 sedans per month, while Mazda Taiwan wants to sell 350 Isamu sedans monthly.

"Hotai is a respectable rival," said Jeffrey Shen (沈英銓), president of Ford Lio Ho.

"We don't want to underestimate the impact of Vios into the mix."

Offering new car models is crucial to securing an increase in market share, said Chang Shih-tse (張世澤), an analyst at the Yuanta Core Pacific Capital Management Co (元大京華投顧).

Vios will fare well against competitors this year because there is no sign that Honda's Fit compact will enter the market any time soon," Chang said.

Taiwan is the third country to produce Vios, following China and Thailand. Toyota began manufacturing Vios in China in October through a joint venture in Tianjin, making it the first Toyota passenger car to be made in China.

Kuozui Motors Ltd (國瑞汽車), which manufactures Toyota cars in Taiwan, rolled out the first locally assembled Vios last week. Hotai will start selling the four-door automobiles for between NT$432,000 and NT$492,000 later this month, Hotai spokesman Steven Yang (楊湘泉) said.

Along with the planned introduction of Lexus RX330 luxury recreational vehicles tomorrow, Hotai is targeting an annual sales of 95,000 Toyotas this year, accounting for 25 percent of the market, compared with 100,531 vehicles sold last year, Yang said.

With a down payment of around NT$50,000, Vios buyers can sign up for a payment program lasting for up to 60 months, Yang said.

According to government statistics, 59,934 new vehicles were sold during the first two months of this year, a decline of 4.43 percent from a year ago.

"Concerns over a US conflict with Iraq are hurting consumer confidence," Chang said.
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