Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), the Indian subsidiary of the Japanese automaker Toyota is expecting the car market in India to witness lower growth in 2012 in comparison to 2011 due to the hike in excise duties and service taxes apart from the possibility that the interest rates stay high throughout 2012.
Commenting on the growth expectations for the Indian car industry, Deputy MD (Marketing) TKM Mr. Sandeep Singh stated that while the passenger car market grew 7 percent with sales of 25,00,000 units in 2011, the growth in 2012 is expected to have a lower growth of 3-5 percent.
TKM is planning to expand its production capacity from the current 2,10,000 units to 3,10,000 units by 2013 in order to bring down the waiting period for its car models such as the Innova MPV, the Fortuner SUV, the Etios sedan and the Etios Liva. It has also begun exports of India manufactured car models Etios sedan and the Liva hatchback to foreign markets starting with South Africa.