Toyota Motor is running out of road in China, formerly one of its strongest markets. It has cut the jobs of about 1,000 factory workers in the country before the end of their contracts.

Toyota was once one of China’s favourite foreign car brands. But deliveries slipped for the first time in a decade last year to 1.9mn, despite total market growth of 9.5 per cent. That came as a nasty shock: bulls had brushed off declining sales as easily reversible once the Japanese automaker launched its own electric car models in China.

Instead, Toyota may have missed its moment. Toyota sales in China fell 9 per cent in the first half. Peers Honda and Nissan have also posted weak sales in China lately. Mitsubishi Motors suspended its China operations this month. Shares of Guangzhou Automobile Group, also the local joint venture partner for Mitsubishi Motors, have fallen 38 per cent over the past year.