Toyota to Fall Short of China Sales Goal This Year

Toyota Motor Corp., which said in September it expected its sales in China to reach 1 million vehicles in 2012, now doesn't expect to reach that level until at least 2014.

Demand for Toyota vehicles in China fell 5% to 840,500 units last year the first decline since the company set up its first joint venture there in 2003. Toyota predicted on Monday that its sales in China will rise 7% to about 900,000 vehicles in 2013.

The company's original forecast was demolished by a wave of anti-Japan sentiment that swept China last autumn after a territorial dispute between the two countries.

The backlash has been diminishing since September, when the company's Chinese sales plummeted 50% from the same month in 2011. Toyota has reported year-over-year declines of 44% in October, 22% in November and 16% last month.