Toyota Kirloskar Motors Private Limited, a joint venture between the Japanese automaker Toyota and the Kirloskar Group has started export activities on April 4, 2012 beginning with the dispatch of 247 units of the Etios sedan and the Etios Liva hatchback to South Africa. The vehicles are being exported from the Ennore Port in Chennai.
The company plans to export 20,000 cars to South Africa in 2012. The export car models which are the petrol versions of the Etios sedan and the Etios Liva hatchback are being manufactured at the company’s plant at Bangalore.
According to Mr. Hiroshi Nakagawa Managing Director of Toyota Kirloskar, the commencement of exports from India is in line with the company’s vision of making India a strategic hub for both its domestic as well as the global market.
In order to boost sales and exports, the company is planning to increase its annual production capacity from 2,10,000 units to 3,10,000 by 2013. Moreover, to avoid supply disruptions due to reasons such as floods in Thailand, the company is considering an increase in localization from 70 percent to 90 percent of production in terms of parts supply.