By K T Chacko/News Editor, Nagoya, Japan Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), one of the the world’s largest automobile manufacturers, sold approximately 650,000 vehicles in the Middle East this year, a new record for the company and up 30% compared with last year.Global sales of Toyota & Lexus are estimated at about 8.7mn units for 2012, which is about 22% more than 2011. Lexus sales in the region have gone up by approximately 48% year-on-year to 31,000 units , thanks to the introduction of new models such as the LX, GS and LS, TMC officials said.Addressing mediapersons at the Toyota office in Nagoya, Japan, Hisayuki Inoue, Senior Managing Officer said the results for this year would have been even better but for the political differences that surfaced between Japan and China , leading to a drop in sales in China. The Senkaku islands (called Diaoyu in China) dispute has led to anti-Japanese sentiment in some parts of China.Nagoya is the home base of the Toyota Motor Corporation. Highlighting some of the recent developments and achievements at Toyota, he said his company has been working tirelessly to overcome various situations and circumstances that cropped up following the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008. He sounded upbeat about Toyota’s performance this year and the expectations for the coming year.The senior managing officer of the Japanese multinational automaker said owing to the relatively good business conditions and sales in the Middle East and South East Asia, combined with the upturn in the US market, the overall performance this year was not “so bad”. “We are a global company with global operations and it seems to never happen that all markets are bad; neither all markets are good, at one time.”He said the company’s global presence and various diversifications have proved to be a good business strategy.Talking about some of the key products that were introduced this year, he made a special mention of the Toyota 86, “an epoch making sports model which has received worldwide adulation from customers, media and the motoring industry at large”. “We have also introduced new “eco” and “environment” friendly models globally. We believe that introducing such models is a social responsibility of the automobile industry, and certainly one area of Toyota’s strength.” This year has also been an epoch making year for the auto giant as its global annual sales crossed the milestone of 1 million hybrid vehicles. Toyota has adopted a new aggressive slogan “Always Better Cars”. Inoue said Toyota will be launching these “Ever Better Cars” in the future.The senior official also said Toyota was developing new “eco” and “environment” friendly transportation systems along with housing, “which should significantly contribute to lowering carbon emissions in the society”. In this regard the company is developing a “Ecoful” town in Toyota City . The official thanked Toyota’s loyal customers and distributors in the Middle East. “We introduced the first Toyota in 1954 in the Middle East, almost 60 years ago. This year we celebrate our 75th anniversary; which means that for most of our history, loyal customers in the region have been with us.”According to him, Toyota enjoys the top market share in most of Middle Eastern countries. “Currently, our Middle Eastern sales are almost half of that in Japan, our home market. Additionally, Toyota’s market penetration in the Middle East is almost the same as in our home market of Japan.” He expressed the hope that sales in the Middle East will continue to grow considering the large youth population in the region. “Likewise, the Middle East has been, is and will continue to be so much very important market for us,” the senior manager of the Japanese multinational automaker said.Answering a question, Inoue said “electrical” vehicles are at present too expensive and would require government subsidies to be popular. According to him, hybrid will remain to be the core technology in automotive industry for the 21st century.To another question on Toyota’s strategy to deal with the “attractive” Korean vehicles in the market, he said the next models of Corolla and Yaris would have “very attractive” features. “Toyota also will offer better after-sales service to maintain its market lead.”Toyota Motor Corporation designs and manufactures a diverse product line-up that ranges from subcompacts to luxury and sports vehicles to SUVs, trucks, minivans, and buses. Toyota’s subsidiaries also manufacture vehicles: Daihatsu Motor produces mini-vehicles, while Hino Motors produces trucks and buses.Abdullah Abdulghani and Bros (AAB), the official distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Qatar will open a “mega centre” in Qatar in 2015 to provide top quality after-sales service to customers, AAB marketing manager Omar Elshafei said. The centre , currently in the planning and execution stage, is expected to be completed in three years, he said.Toyota officials lauded the excellent service provided by AAB in Qatar and said they were happy with their distributor’s Corporate Social Responsibility programmes in the country.