Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), the world’s largest carmaker, is exploring possibilities of taking Etios, which made its global debut in India last week, to China, Russia and Brazil to drive up volumes in emerging economies.
The company has developed a sedan and a hatchback on the Etios platform, the cheapest offerings from its stable. Sources close to the development said feasibility studies had begun in Brazil, China and Russia to firm up modalities for developing the cars in such countries.
At present, emerging markets account for 40 per cent of TMC’s global sales. Over the next 10 years, the company wants to expand its product portfolio in India, China, Russia, Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia, and increase sales contribution of these countries by 10 per cent.
Toyota has been facing pressure on sales due to the slow recovery in North American and European markets. Sales fell 4.78 per cent to 7.24 million units last year. While sales fell 5.7 per cent in North America, the number of vehicles sold in Europe declined by a third.
The company is looking at expanding its footprint in emerging economies to keep up volumes. To this end, Toyota through an agreement with its joint venture partner Kirloskar Group is setting up a second facility at Bidadi in Karnataka.
The new facility, likely to be operational from December 20, will roll out 70,000 units of Etios and Liva. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) intends to double sales to 140,000-150,000 vehicles in 2011 on the back of demand for the Etios family.
