Pace of slide in Toyota China sales slows in December: Executive

BEIJING (REUTERS) - Toyota Motor Corp. is still dogged by a sales crisis Japanese carmakers are suffering in China as a result of a territorial row between the two countries but December sales proved "surprisingly resilient", a senior Toyota executive said.

The executive 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 in December, compared with 108,000 cars the company and its two Chinese partners sold in December 2011.

Toyota is expected to announce its China sales data for December on Monday, according to a Beijing-based company spokesman. He did not respond to calls seeking comment on November sales.