Toyota Predicts Holden Commodore to Keep Top Spot in 2008

GM Holden Ltd.’s locally built Commodore sedan will be Australia’s best-selling vehicle for a 13th straight year in 2008.

The prediction comes from unlikely source – market-leader Toyota Motor Corp. Australia Ltd. – which says it will not challenge the Commodore for the top sales spot this year.

Last year, Toyota had five of the top 10 best-selling models, and the Corolla finished No.2.

However, says David Buttner, Toyota senior executive-director sales and marketing, a Toyota model will not take the No.1 spot this year.

“It will not happen,” he tells reporters. “No chance. We cannot get enough cars. And anyway, the (sales) gap is too big.”

Last year, the Commodore sold 57,307 units, comfortably ahead of the Corolla’s 47,792.

But Toyota was Australia’s best-selling brand for a fifth-straight year with 236,647 units, almost 90,000 ahead of GM Holden’s 146,680.

Toyota is confident it will once again lead the market in 2008, although it will be a relatively quiet year with no significant new-model launches.

“Every major product has been replaced or significantly upgraded in only three years –

most of them in the past 18 months,” Buttner says. “We anticipate Toyota expanding its 2007 result by at least 250,000 sales this year.”