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GUANGZHOU, China – GAC-Toyota, the joint venture between China’s Guangzhou Automobile Group Corp. (GAC) and Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp., held a ceremony here this month to celebrate the roll off of its 1 millionth vehicle.
Established in 2004, GAC-Toyota started its production in May 2006 with the Camry, followed by the Yaris in May 2008.
The joint venture began manufacturing the Highlander SUV in May 2009, followed by the Camry Hybrid in April 2010 and the E’Z in June 2011.
The company has recovered rapidly from the parts supply difficulties due to the devastating earthquake in March in Japan, with its production returned to normal level.
The Camry achieved a cumulative sales volume of 700,000 units last year and is headed toward selling 800,000 units.
The Highlander also broke the threshold of 150,000 units in sales, according to the company.
GAC-Toyota registered sales as 111,631 units in the first half of this year, up 8 percent compared with the same period last year.
