Toyota IMV sales cross 800,000 in the Middle East

Toyota Motor Corporation’s Middle East and North Africa Representative Office (MENARO) announced the cumulative sales of its Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle (IMV) project series, which includes three Hilux pickup trucks, Fortuner and Innova of nearly 820,000 units in February 2012, accounting for over 16 percent of the global cumulative sales of over 5 million units.

Commenting this impressive milestone, which has also been reached by other Toyota vehicles like the Camry and Corolla among others, Nadim Haddad, the Marketing Manager at Central Trade and Auto — Toyota’s sole dealer in the Kingdom — said:  “This remarkable success is a result of Toyota’s uncompromising strategy in the Middle East and North Africa regions, which prioritizes the delivery of innovative vehicles that feature ergonomic designs and cutting-edge technologies. The company has kept its focus on style, comfort and value, which has immensely paid off in a region that has many loyal Toyota enthusiasts.”

The IMV series has won the favor of many customers around the world and sales have grown steadily with cumulative sales reaching 1 million vehicles in 2006, 2 million in 2008, 3 million in 2009, 4 million in 2010, and 5 million in March this year.

The IMV series consisting of five vehicles was specially developed in 2004 for introduction to over 140 countries and regions. Based on the concept of producing vehicles where they are sold, TMC has established an optimal worldwide production and supply system to quickly offer attractive vehicles at an affordable price to consumers around the world. Currently, the IMV series is manufactured in 11 locations including four countries designated as global IMV supply bases: Thailand, Indonesia, Argentina and South Africa.  These four bases provide vehicles to markets in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania, and Central and South America. Additionally, major components such as diesel engines produced in Thailand, gasoline engines produced in Indonesia and transmissions produced in the Philippines and India are distributed to IMV-producing countries.

As stated in the Toyota Global Vision, TMC has placed top priority on emerging markets and aims to increase its sales in these markets from the present ratio of 40 percent of worldwide sales to 50 percent by 2015, through the strengthening of its core model of locally based production. The Toyota Fortuner SUV will soon be produced in Egypt with other regions also being considered in line with the local demand.