Toyota Kirloskar plans series of expansion strategies for Indian market

Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM), the Indian subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp., will launch a new hatchback called Liva and will introduce the Lexus brand in India in June.  These launches, plus the recent launch of the new Corolla Altis, appear to be part of a new expanded initiative aimed at the Indian automotive market. The Lexus brand launch is part of a strategy to take advantage of the growing luxury car market segment in India.  In an effort to reduce dependence on Japanese car parts, Toyota is also increasing the use of local sourcing for car parts, including engine parts and transmissions.  In addition, Toyota will soon open a new car finance division, the Toyota Financial Services, in India to boost sales.  Koji Nagata, executive managing coordinator director for TKM, said, “At present 70% of the components for the Etios is locally sourced which would be increased to 90% by 2012-13. We are looking to increase sourcing from India across our models. We will start with Etios.”  Nagata also indicated that the company is recovering from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, indicating, “India was the first country where we resumed full production after the earthquake and it shows where our priorities lie globally, even though we will still not be able to produce as many cars as we had planned for the year.” (June 17, 2011)