NAGOYA — Toyota Motor will acquire South Korean conglomerate SK Group’s car leasing business in China to fuel its expansion in the world’s biggest auto market.
Financing subsidiary Toyota Financial Services will buy the entire stake in Beijing-based SK Auto Service for an estimated 5 billion yen ($45.5 million), aiming to close the deal by month’s end.
SK Auto Service has operated mainly in major cities with a fleet of several thousand vehicles for corporate customers.
In China, TFS, the Toyota unit, has primarily offered loans to individuals. Now it intends to operate the lease business in additional cities, tapping the help of a group sales company there.
TFS earned a group operating profit of 445.4 billion yen for the year ended March, generating about 20% of Toyota’s consolidated figure.
The Chinese market expected to remain on a growth track thanks in part to Beijing’s growth policy. New-car sales will reach 30 million vehicles in 2025, up 20% from 2020, a local trade group projects.