Toyota Sees Growth in China as Other Carmakers Falter

What’s new: Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota Motor Corp. sold 1.8 million vehicles (link in Chinese) in China last year, up 11% year-on-year, the carmaker said Thursday.

“In the future, Toyota and Lexus will continue their mission of ‘mass-producing happiness’ for Chinese consumers, the company said in a statement.

What’s the background: The China Association of Automotive Manufacturers estimates sales in the world’s biggest car market last year dipped 1.9% to 25.3 million vehicles.

General Motors Co., one of Toyota’s main rivals in China, saw its sales fall 6.2% last year to 2.9 million vehicles, the company said Wednesday.

Toyota-backed autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai won a license from the Guangzhou municipal government last month to test self-driving trucks on the city’s public roads after raising $267 million in its latest fundraising round.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use.

Contact reporter Lu Yutong (yutonglu@caixin.com) and editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@caixin.com)

Support quality journalism in China. Subscribe to Caixin Global starting at $0.99.