Guangzhou Automobile Group Co, a Chinese partner of Honda Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp, made a 2007 profit of more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) helped by surging demand for Toyota Camry sedans.

Sales totaled at least 100 billion yuan, General Manager Zeng Qinghong said in Beijing yesterday at an event alongside a meeting of China top policy makers. He didn't provide year-earlier figures.

The car maker's venture with Toyota sold 170,294 Camrys last year, making it the fourth bestselling car in the country, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The overall passenger-car market grew 22 percent last year as China's economic growth makes automobiles more affordable, Bloomberg News reported.

Guangzhou Toyota Motor Co began making cars in 2006, with a designed production capacity of 200,000 vehicles a year. Construction work on the venture's second plant began last year.

(Shangai Daily March 7, 2008)