Toyota Seeks 4% Of Europe

Takahashi said in an interview that the company had no plans to set up production in eastern Europe and was busy preparing for production of a second model, a Corolla adapted to European tastes, at its British plant next year.

The company expects vehicle sales in Europe this year to exceed 400,000 units, up from just over 380,000 last year, he said.

Around 300,000 of the Toyota vehicles sold in Europe this year will be imported to the region and 110,000 - various versions of the Carina car - are being built in Britain.

The next step is to introduce a second model at the UK plant and to double production to around 220,000 cars, Takahashi said.

 

He said models in Europe in 1996, including the Starlet compact and the Picnic, a tall variant of a station-wagon that was displayed at the Paris car show.

The company expects to introduce new models and revamped versions of existing ones next year as well.

Takahashi rejected accusations by PSA Peugeot Citroen chairman Jacques Calvet that Japanese carmakers have sold around three million cars in Europe in excess of a quota set in a 1991 Japanese-European accord.

We have no idea how to respond to this claim. What I can say is that his claim is unfounded. In the agreement between the Japanese government and the European Community about the importation of Japanese cars, to my understanding there is no specific calculation formula, he said.

Although Japanese sales have been below the quotas set in the accord for the past two years, the PSA group says a clause requires Japanese manufacturers to adapt their quota to market growth, which has been weaker than anticipated since the 1993 European auto recession.

The European carmakers association ACEA has not taken an official stance.

Industry sources say the sticking point is that the clause, included in an annex, is considered a European understanding that is not recognised by the Japanese.

If the Japanese government doesn't know about it, then we don't, Haruyuki Miyadai, director of government relations at Toyota's European headquarters in Brussels, said.

The twice yearly Japanese-European negotiations on imports are set to begin later this month.

Takahashi said he expected the western European market to grow modestly in 1997. The trend is not so strong but I think there'll be modest growth of 2-3 per cent.

He said he expected growth to the year 2000 averaging between three and five per cent annually in western Europe, while the eastern European market is forecast to grow faster.

Toyota is performing well in markets on the periphery of western Europe and has double-digit market share in Iceland, Finland, Ireland and Denmark.

As for production in eastern Europe, It is still too early for Toyota to make a decision, Takahashi said.

He said it would be positive for the company if Britain joined the planned economic and monetary union. The company has its European production base in Britain although it also has a pickup venture with Volkswagen in Germany and a small commercial vehicle plant in Portugal.

If Britain does not join, Toyota hopes for an arrangement between those countries that share a single currency and European Union member states that do not.

If the UK were totally unlinked then maybe it would be a problem, Takahashi said, but added that he did not expect that to be the case.