Toyota to pump Rs 1650 Crore to ramp up plant capacity in India

2012 Toyota Fortuner

Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corp. has decided to increase their investment in India by pumping in Rs 1650 Crore which will be used to induce more capacity into their manufacturing plants. Toyota aims to increase production capacity by one lakh units by 2014. This also includes an increase in localization of components. Toyota India has recently introduced two new cars in the market which cater to the budget buyer.

The Etios and the Etios Liva are set to bring in more volumes for the company and hence the automakers decision to increase capacity does not come as a surprise. By 2013 the company aims to increase capacity of two of its plants with an investment of Rs 898 Crore. Further Rs 750 Crore investment will go towards setting up aluminium castings and machining lines by 2014.

“Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today announced a further increase of its production capacity to 310,000 units by 2013. The expansion will come with an investment of Rs 898 crore approximately and generation of new employment opportunities,” the company said in a statement.

Toyota Etios Liva Hatchback

Toyota is at present expanding the capacity of two of its Bangalore plants to 150,000 units and 210,000 units by 2012. Now, the Innova and Fortuner SUV will be manufactured under one roof while the Etios sedan, Corolla Altis and the Etios Liva hatchback will share the second production line. The company is also gearing-up for the introduction of the new Toyota Innova MPV and the new Toyota Fortuner in India.

Meanwhile, the automaker expects huge volumes from the Etios Liva hatchback which has been priced as low as Rs 3.99 lakh ex-showroom for the stripped-out, base variant. The Liva was launched last months and Toyota has already received 4000 bookings for the car till date. This overwhelming response has prompted the company to advance its plans to increase capacity of its plants.

TKM Managing Director Hiroshi Nakagawa said: “In line with the growing demand for our vehicles, we have decided to further expand production. The demand for Etios and Etios Liva has been encouraging and we are gearing up to cater to a larger number of customers.”

Via BSMotoring