The company sold around 160,357 units in the local market this calendar year, which is an increase of 22% over 130,768 units sold in 2021.
Toyota operates locally in a joint-venture with the Kirloskar Group as Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM). It had reported its highest sales at 172,241 units in 2012. During the month of December 2022, TKM sold 10,421 units compared with 10,834 units sold in December 2021.
Atul Sood, Associate Vice President, Sales and Strategic Marketing, TKM said: “The year 2022 has been tremendous for TKM, both in terms of new product launches as well as sales performance. We introduced milestone models like the Urban Cruiser Hyryder and the Innova Hycross and both the models have been very well appreciated by our customers, attracting huge traction in terms of demand.”
Nearly 80% of the demand for the Hyryder has come in for the company’s strong hybrid options. The Innova Hycross too has registered robust demand for the hybrid variants, Sood said, without sharing details of pending orders. TKM is making efforts to meet customer requirements accordingly.
Meanwhile, TKM’s flagship models like the Fortuner, Legender, Camry continue to maintain a strong presence in their respective segments. Sood is optimistic of the company sustaining the growth momentum in the new year. “The Indian economy is performing much better than others. There is pent-up demand in the market. Additionally, the government is investing heavily in infrastructure development. All these factors should help support growth in 2023”, informed Sood.
Going ahead, Toyota will continue to introduce electrified vehicles in the market to shore up volumes sustainably in India. Once renewable energy accounts for a more favourable part of the energy mix and charging infrastructure for electric cars comes up across the country, the company will examine opportunities to bring in pure electric vehicles. With around 70% of the electricity in India generated from coal-based power plants, TKM feels EVs currently are not an optimal solution to reduce vehicular emissions in the market here.
In line with its commitment to introduce green mobility solutions in the Indian market, TKM will showcase its strong hybrid technology at the 16th edition of the India Motor Show to be held in Greater Noida Expo Mart between Jan 11-18, 2023.
Overall, apart from enhancing local sales, Toyota is also working on commencing exports of India-made vehicles. This will start with shipments of the Hyryder to West Asia and Africa. If the vehicle is received well by consumers overseas, TKM will explore further opportunities to scale up shipments from India.
