Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) may introduce its Daihatsu brand cars in India in the coming years. Daihatsu is a Toyota group company and is Japan’s largest mini-car maker with a presence in over a 100 countries. Its small cars are getting a very good response in markets like Indonesia and Malaysia, and Toyota officials are talking internally to bring it to India, said Mr Akira Okabe, Senior Managing Director and member of the TMC board. Mr Okabe also said that if launched, Daihatsu’s range of cars will straddle all passenger car segments in India.
Toyota is doing well globally, but its market share in India is only 3 per cent, owing to its late entry into the country. The company has been thinking of launching Daihatsu’s cars in India for a long time, but unsure of whether these would get a decent response, it ultimately decided to launch a small car under its own brand name. If it launches Daihatsu cars in India, Toyota’s product range in the country will expand considerably. A multi-product approach, as is being followed by Maruti and Hyundai, may help Toyota gain a larger market share here.
Meanwhile, Toyota will not be introducing the luxury car brand Lexus in India anytime soon, as its current strategy is to bring in mass market products and concentrate on sales volumes
