Toyota Kirloskar Motor plans to ramp up production of Etios series by 75 per cent at its second plant at Bidadi near Bangalore.
The company plans to increase the production to 2.1 lakh units by next year, a press statement from the company said.
Toyota announced that the Etios series (Etios & Etios Liva) has posted sales of over one lakh units. The company achieved this milestone since it entered the mass volume market in India. The Etios was launched in December 2010 followed by Etios Liva in June last year.
The company sold 50,157 units of Etios in 2011-12, making it the third largest selling sedan in the segment.
Mr Hiroshi Nakagawa, Managing Director, TKM, said, “We thank the one-lakh customers who have trusted the brand. We were able to achieve this despite unforeseen and unfortunate events like tsunami in Japan and the floods in Thailand.”
Mr Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director, Marketing, TKM, said, “We are constantly incorporating customers' feedback to be able to serve them better. This is a small yet very important milestone in this large project that will place TKM on a higher pedestal in the global operations of Toyota.”
Exports
Toyota forayed into the export market with the first consignment of Etios shipped to South Africa in April this year. The company plans to export 20,000 units of Etios series a year.
The domestic production of engine and transmission for the Etios and Etios Liva will be carried out at Toyota Kirloskar Auto parts. About one lakh engines will be produced a year starting in the third quarter of this year and about 2.40 lakh transmissions a year starting in early 2013, said Mr Nakagawa.
“With the production of these critical parts, the localisation ratio for Etios, currently around 70 per cent, is expected to cross 90 per cent,” he added.
For selling Etios and Etios Liva, the company has expanded its dealer network from 97 dealerships in 2009 to 175 outlets currently. The company further plans to expand it to 220 dealerships by early next year.