As strange as it may sound, Toyota's namesake brand was absent from the South Korean market, home of its international rival, the Hyundai / Kia Group. While the world's largest automaker has been active in South Korea since 2000 when it established a local arm and began selling the luxury Lexus brand the following year, up until now, it had not attempted to sell its Toyota branded vehicles in a country where Hyundai and affiliate Kia control over 70 percent of the market.
Toyota said that it has set an initial combined monthly sales target of 500 vehicles, aiming to increase that number to a still-modest 700 units beginning in 2010.
How humbling.
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