Toyota Motor Corp. unveiled a fully revamped version of the RAV4 sport utility vehicle Monday to stimulate domestic demand following a year-on-year decline in quarterly sales.
"With the launch of the RAV4 and other new models that are to follow soon, we hope to stimulate demand to win back the sales level" for the latter half of the current year, Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe told a news conference in Tokyo.
Toyota's sales -- excluding subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. -- have been lagging since July.
Powered by a 2.4-liter engine, the third-generation RAV4 is 18 cm longer and 8 cm wider, providing expanded interior room and luggage space, Toyota said.
The new SUV, which will be priced between 1.97 million yen and 2.48 million yen, will be launched overseas in January, including North America and Europe, as one of the company's global strategic cars, Watanabe said.
The automaker said the monthly sales target in Japan will be 2,000 units, while the annual sales target will be more than 160,000 in North America and more than 100,000 in Europe.
Wingroad restyled
Nissan Motor Co. released a restyled version of the Wing- road station wagon Monday for sale across Japan.
The new model comes with a 1,500cc or 1,800cc engine.
Nissan expects to sell 3,500 a month, priced at 1.49 million yen to 1.89 million yen.