Toyota Motor in no hurry to enter small-car segment

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is in no hurry to enter the small-car segment in India. The company’s small car will be launched in 2011, which it admits is a little late compared to competitors. However, Toyota is not worried. Mr Yukitoshi Funo, TMC’s Executive Vice-President, said that the company would continue to follow its traditional approach in India, and move step-by-step to cover all passenger car segments. He said that Toyota would neither experiment with different products like Tata Motors did, nor would it start a price-war with competitors. He did, however, say that it considered Hyundai and Suzuki as its major competitors in the small-car segment. Toyota’s small car is expected to be priced higher than same-segment products manufactured by Hyundai and Suzuki, and will be displayed at the Auto Expo in January 2010. Vice-Chairman Kazuo Okamoto said that the company may have been a late entrant in many countries, but that it was always a front-runner once it entered.

Meanwhile, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has decided to increase the production of its SUV, the Fortuner, by 60 per cent. The company has taken the decision in response to the extremely high demand for the vehicle. TKM’s Deputy Managing Director, Mr Sandip Singh, said that Toyota had decided to raise the production of the Fortuner from 500 units per month to 800 units by January 2010.