Customer traffic in Toyota's showrooms in China is recovering after the crisis over the disputed islands in the East China Sea. Tyrone Siu / Reuters
Customer traffic in Toyota's showrooms in China is recovering after the crisis over the disputed islands in the East China Sea. Tyrone Siu / Reuters
Customer traffic in Toyota's showrooms in China is recovering after the crisis over the disputed islands in the East China Sea. Tyrone Siu / Reuters
Customer traffic in Toyota's showrooms in China is recovering after the crisis over the disputed islands in the East China Sea. Tyrone Siu / Reuters

Toyota halts skid but still loses


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The Japanese car-making giant Toyota is still stuck in reverse in China, where a territorial row between the two countries is hurting the Japanese car sector.

However, sales last month proved "surprisingly resilient", a senior Toyota executive said.

He said customer traffic in Toyota's showrooms was recovering to levels seen before the crisis over the disputed islands in the East China Sea broke out last September.

Toyota sold "almost" 90,000 vehicles in China last month, compared with 108,000 cars the company and its two Chinese partners sold in December 2011.

Toyota is expected to officially announce its China sales data for last month today, according to a company spokesman in Beijing. He did not respond to calls seeking comment on November sales.

The pace of last month's decline - about 17 per cent from a year earlier - eased from the previous three months.

"Sales rebounded faster than we had expected," said the Toyota executive, who declined to be identified.

He attributed the recovery in part to discounts and other sales incentives the company provided during the month.

Toyota's sales fall last month followed a decline of 22 per cent in November, 44 per cent in October, and almost 50 per cent in September.

Signs in the marketplace across China - including a recovery in customer traffic in dealer showrooms - were "encouraging", the Toyota executive said.

Sales patterns showed consumers were no longer as concerned as they were after a surge of anti-Japan sentiment that affected sales at car dealers.

Violent anti-Japan protests swept China from mid-September after Japan bought two East China Sea islands, known as the Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese, from their private owner. China claims the islands as its own territory. Demand slumped in September and October, reducing the market share of Japanese firms in China's passenger car market to about 17 per cent from 19 per cent at the end of August, according to the China Association of Automotive Manufacturers.

Some Chinese consumers have since avoided Japanese cars. In a widely reported incident during the height of the anti-Japanese sentiment, a Chinese man was attacked by angry protesters for driving a Toyota Corolla.

Last month's sales showed Chinese consumers were "not as fearful of buying and driving Japanese cars as before", the Toyota executive said.

* with Reuters

Find the right policy for you

Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.

Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.

Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.

Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.

If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.

Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.

Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi

“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”