Toyota and other Japanese carmakers are suffering the sharpest sales decline in China among foreign brands as analysts warn that their slow rollout of electric vehicles is threatening their future in the world’s largest auto market.
Year-on-year sales volume for the country’s brands in China are down 32 per cent in the first three months of this year, according to research company MarkLines. That compares with 9 per cent falls for both German and US groups and a 7 per cent slide for Korean automakers.
A price war sparked by Elon Musk’s Tesla has also hit European and US carmakers at a time when passenger car sales in China are falling as a result of sluggish economic growth.