GADFLY: China and Toyota should be made for each other, but they’re in different lanes
Toyota was number two in China as recently as 2015, but rivals are speeding up while Toyota seems to be idling
Sydney — The world’s biggest car maker and the world’s biggest car market should be made for each other. So why is Toyota Motor misfiring in China? As recently as 2015, it was the number two marque in the country, behind the eternally dominant Volkswagen (VW). Since then, though, sales have flat-lined, while rivals have picked up their game. In December, even Hyundai Motor — still recovering from an informal boycott thanks to political tensions between South Korea and China — shifted more units, leaving Toyota barely clinging on in the top 10. Part of the problem lies in its model range. The category that’s taken the Chinese market by storm has been the sub-compact SUV, which fits the styling of a Land Cruiser into the parking space of a Corolla. Toyota hasn’t had a contender in this segment, leaving the market wide open for the likes of Honda’s XR-V and Geely Automobile Holdings’s Emgrand X7. The roll-out this year of the C-HR, with a high top and a wheelbase barely longer than a Y...
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