GM Cavalier Posts Disappointing Sales in Japan

Toyota Motor Corp. said 1998 sales of General Motors Corp.’s Cavalier sedan will rise 11% to about 10,000 vehicles, just half the annual sales target it originally set for the vehicle. Japan’s largest auto maker signed a contract with GM in 1993 to sell 20,000 Cavaliers annually in Japan starting in 1996. Toyota sold just 9,000 Cavaliers in 1997 despite an aggressive advertising campaign featuring popular entertainer Tokoro Joji and a 0.9% financing offer, said Toyota spokesman Koki Konishi. He declined to say how much the company has spent on advertising for the Cavalier, which is sold under the Toyota badge. Interest rates for new vehicles in Japan are typically about 5%, he said. Cavalier sales suffered in 1997 from the April tax increase. The Cavalier competes in Japan’s most competitive segment--vehicles with engines larger than 2 liters, including Nissan Motor Co.’s Bluebird, known in the U.S. as the Altima, and Honda Motor Co.’s Accord.