Toyota Motor Europe and Frey Holding GmbH agree ownership transfer of Toyota’s Austria distributor
• The Toyota national marketing and sales company Toyota Frey GES M.B.H (TFAG) will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Europe pending approval by the Austrian merger control authorities, foreseen to take place around 1 March 2019
• Toyota Frey Retail GmbH to retain ownership and management of 7 Toyota and 2 Lexus dealerships in Austria
Vienna, January 28, 2019, 15:30 CET - Frey Holding GmbH and Toyota Motor Europe (TME) have agreed that TME will take full ownership and management of the Austrian National Marketing and Sales Company (NMSC) Toyota Frey GES M.B.H , pending formal approval by the merger control authorities of Austria (expected around early March). The company will then become a subsidiary of TME, under the name Toyota Austria GmbH (TAT) and plans to announce its future management team at that time.
Toyota Frey Retail GmbH, under the leadership of Anja Frey-Winkelbauer, will retain ownership and operational responsibility for the 7 Toyota and 2 Lexus dealerships it currently owns in Austria.
Our sale not only serves to further strengthen and secure the Toyota and Lexus brands in Austria in the long term, but also allows us to concentrate on the very successful retail sector. I am convinced that this mutual agreement is the right strategy.
The Austrian market is a part of TME’s European growth plans and TME decided to continue investing in its future growth. We are very grateful to the Frey family to have promoted the sales and the brand image of both Toyota and Lexus since 1971 and look forward to their continued support to the Toyota and Lexus brands through their retail business.
Since 1971, the Frey family has acted as an importer of Toyota vehicles in Austria. Back then, Friedrich Frey together with Ernst Frey took over the general representation of the brand, which at the time was unknown in Austria, and steadily built up and expanded the market for Toyota.
For us, this was the right step at the right time. Our decision reflects the international evolution of the automotive industry and is part of a long-term growth strategy for TME as well as for us.
With the 8 new models that Toyota and Lexus will launch this year, and the growing success of Toyota’s hybrid technology with Austrian customers, TME expect to progressively grow sales and market share in the years to come.
In 2018, Toyota Frey sold around 9,000 Toyota and 400 Lexus vehicles in Austria.
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About Toyota Frey Holding GmbH
In 1971, the Frey family took over the general representation of Toyota in Austria. To date, more than 600,000 Toyotas have been sold in Austria. From 1991, the success story was repeated with Lexus in the premium segment. The domestic partners of Toyota Frey Austria GmbH include 120 dealer and workshop partners. The portfolio includes the Toyota and Lexus brands.
About Toyota Motor Europe
Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA (TME) oversees the wholesale sales and marketing of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, parts and accessories, and Toyota’s European manufacturing and engineering operations. Toyota directly employs around 20,000 people in Europe and has invested over EUR 9 billion since 1990. Toyota’s operations in Europe are supported by a network of 29 National Marketing and Sales Companies across 53 countries, a total of around 3,000 sales outlets, and nine manufacturing plants. In 2018, Toyota sold 1,035,430 Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Europe. For more information, visit www.toyota-europe.com