New Delhi:
Japanese auto giant Toyota's Indian arm Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has made it very clear that wont come out with a new vehicle launch this year in India.
It will instead concentrate on understanding GST and its implementation within the organization and in its relationship with its dealers. It will also take time to focus on shifting from BS-IV to BS-VI complaint vehicles on time or even before the given deadline.
However, in 2018, the company will exhibit some new products at the Auto Expo.N. Raja, senior Vice-President & Director Sales and Marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said: “India is getting ready for hybrids and electric vehicles at a slow pace; at the moment, we don’t plan to be aggressive and flood the market with new products, that is our next medium term goal. We will come with new products later, nothing this year.”
The company has so far sole more than 1 million vehicles which includes 6 lakh units of Toyota Innova. Toyota Kirloskar Motor also denied news about any entry of its Vios Sedan in India in 2017. Toyota has developed many hybrid and electric vehicles on the global scale but as of now there is no scope of their immediate launch in India. The company has been responding and adapting to changing regulation norms and changes in policies well.
When the diesel ban was introduced in the national capital, Toyota quickly introduced the petrol versions of the Innova Crysta and Fortuner SUV to provide alternative solutions to buyers as well as to ensure continuity to business.
However, sales figures for the petrol versions of the Innova Crysta and Fortuner have not been very good. According to the company, out of the total sales of the Innova Crysta only 5 percent are of petrol versions while the petrol version of the Fortuner SUV is even less at only 2 per cent.
The company also wants to clarify the norms regarding the BS-IV and its implementation. There is some dichotomy regarding whether the April 2020 deadline requires all sales of BS-IV compliant vehicles to be stopped or only their production.
N Raja further added on the launch Toyota Innova touring sport that as of now there was not much clarity or direction on the norms of the BS-IV except for the deadline. Although the government is sure of its BSIV compliant fuel deadline of 2020, the company said that it will need the fuel much in advance to test it on their vehicles.
Regarding the adoption of the BS-VI norms, the company seems confident as its Toyota Camry Hybrid is already BS-VI complaint. The company had already suggested to the government to structure out old BS-I and BS-II compliant vehicles. Toyota Kirloskar has been producing BS—VI since 2010 and by 2016 the product range of the company in India is already BS-VI Compliant as are other OEMs.
As of today, all OEMs are calculating the investment required to upgrade to BS-VI compliant but there was not much clarity regarding the same. Therefore, it was becoming difficult to evaluate the exact investment required. With the Supreme Court giving no relief to the two-wheeler and CV manufacturers, he entire industry is planning its product range carefully and cautious about launching of new products.
