Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), the Indian arm of world's second largest automaker Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan, today announced that it will invest Rs 1,400 crore to build its second car plant at Bidadi near Bangalore adjacent to the existing plant. This new unit will also be the base for a new 'strategic small car'. According to Toyota, the second plant will begin operations by 2010. It will have an initial annual production capacity of around 100,000 vehicles, with plans to increase that over time. Presently, Toyota Kirloskar has a capacity to manufacture 63,000 units per annum. Toyota drove into India with a manufacturing base near Bangalore, pumping in Rs 2,500 crore during 1997. Toyota Kirloskar is a 89:11 joint venture owned by Toyota along with the Indian engineering firm Kirloskar Group. The paid up capital of the JV is Rs 700 crore. It has 432 acres at Bidadi near Bangalore, of which 120 acres has been utilised for its current unit. TKM will produce passenger vehicles, including the Corolla as well as a new strategic small car. TKM also plans to export them in the future, a company release said.With this move, Toyota joins its global peers such as Suzuki, Hyundai, General Motors and Ford Motors in increasing its manufacturing presence in India in the recent past.Toyota's plan to introduce a small car in India comes at a time when this second-largest global car maker is aiming to capture 15 per cent of the Indian car market by 2010, from its current share of little less than five per cent. Presently, a little over 1.2 million passenger cars are sold in India and is expected to double by 2010. Said K K Swamy, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota India: "The R&D of this new small car is presently underway at our headquarters in Japan." Industry watchers indicate that this small car will be from the stables of Daihatsu, a company in which Toyota owns 51 per cent. Daihatsu is known for its compact cars globally. TKM plans to increase the number of dealers in the country. In line with TKM's plan to increase annual production capacity, its affiliated suppliers are also investing on upgrading their capacities. Toyota currently employs 2,800 people in India.The Indian small car market is being pursued aggressively by all global majors as there is significant growth in this segment. In the recent past, companies like Skoda and Ford have indicated their intentions to tap the market. Toyota, since it began production in 1999 in India, has had some decent success. Its first model Qualis, a multi-purpose vehicle was a run-away success in this segment. Post its initial five-year lifespan, Toyota introduced its global multi-utility vehical platform on which the present Innova is built. This too has met decent success here. The company, since 2005 has sold over 132,000 units of Innova. In 2007, Toyota sold a total of 54,000 units across its four models. Presently, it manufactures Innova, a multi-utility vehicle and Corolla, a sedan at the Bangalore plant. In addition to its present two models, Toyota imports and sells premium-class luxury sedan Camry and also the legendary Land Cruiser, a sports utility vehicle.
