Passenger car maker Toyota Motor Corporation on Wednesday said it will invest a total of about Rs 1,650 crore to increase its production capacity of its Indian plants by 1 lakh units and for further localisation of components by 2014.
Toyota, which has two joint ventures with the Kirloskar Group, will invest Rs 898 crore in Toyota Kirloskar Motor, which makes cars like the Etios and the Innova to increase capacity to 3.1 lakh units per year.
Auto parts arm
In its other joint venture, Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts (TKAP), it will invest Rs 750 crore to set up new aluminium casting and machining lines. TKAP will start producing engines for the Etios and the Etios Liva by the second half of 2012.
Toyota Kirloskar Deputy Managing Director, Mr Shekhar Vishwanathan, told
In the first plant, which produces the multi-purpose Innova and the sports utility vehicle Fortuner, the production will be expanded by 10,000 units to 1 lakh units. In the second plant, which makes the Etios sedan and the Etios Liva hatchback and the Corolla Altis, the production will be expanded by 90,000 units to 2.1 lakh units by 2013.
The company had last month announced its plan to expand the annual production capacity 60,000 units to 2.1 lakh units by the first half of 2012.
Mr Vishwanathan said about Rs 750 crore out of Rs 900 crore investment announced today is part of the Rs 3,200 crore investment announced at the beginning of the second plant project. The rest forms the additional investment. “We were able to save about Rs 750 crore from the total investment we had announced earlier,” he said. He said once the entire 3.1 lakh units per year capacity is utilised, there will be very less scope for further expansion in the existing plants.
Mr Vishwanathan said the aluminium casting and machining lines are to be installed at TKAP's new “Etios” and “Etios Liva” engine plant, which is scheduled to start operations in the third quarter of 2012. TKAP had earlier, announced the setting up of engine plant and expansion of its transmissions EOU, to cater to Etios and Etios Liva, with a combined investment of Rs. 500 crore.
TKAP also serves as a production and supply base for manual transmission for IMV series vehicles to India, Thailand and Argentina. In addition to engines, TKAP is scheduled to start producing transmissions for Etios and Etios Liva in early 2013. Exports of the transmissions are also being planned.