Gasgoo.com (Shanghai February 6) - Toyota sold a total of 883,000 vehicles in the mainland in 2011, the China Times reported today. The amount is four percent higher than the amount sold the previous year. With sales from Hong Kong and Macau figured in, that total reaches 895,000 units, just a hair under Toyota's original 2011 target of 900,000 sales.

Although the earthquake in Japan last March and flooding in Thailand later in the year heavily affected the manufacturer's sales, Toyota Motor Corporation President and CEO Akio Toyoda (pictured) admits that, even disregarding the effects of the natural disasters, Toyota is still lagging far behind GM and VW. Mr. Toyoda believes that Toyota's lackluster performance in China directly influenced the manufacturer's worldwide ranking. Toyota sold 7.95 million vehicles globally in 2011, compared with VW and GM's respective sales of 8.16 million and 9.02 million vehicles.

Still, Mr. Toyoda is confident in Toyota's prospect in the country. He believes that Toyota's advancements in the domain of hybrid technology will prove crucial in aiding the manufacturer's progress in China. During his visit to Changsha, Jiangsu last October, Mr. Toyoda outlined a clear timetable for the Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing (TMEC) R&D Center. According to the timeline, Toyota will introduce brand new plug-in style hybrid and pure electric models in 2013. Meanwhile, improvements will continued to be made to improve the quality of the TMEC center.

Toyota faces a number of challenges in 2012, with the Chinese market becoming more competitive and the ever-appreciating value of the Japanese yen. However, Mr. Toyoda is still committed to China, having previously stated that the country is "most important" to Toyota.