Toyota To Increase Capacity

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has plans to scale up the production at its second plant to double in the near future, a top company official said.

"We intend to expand the capacity of our second plant from 1,00,000 units to 2,00,000 units in the near future," Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Managing Director, Hiroshi Nakagawa told reporters on the sideline of the launch of its Traffic Safety Education Initiative.

TKM started production in its first plant at Bangalore in December 1999.

The foundation stone for the second plant at Bangalore was recently laid by Karnataka Chief Minister, B S Yedurappa.

Nakagawa said that the company was very much keen in India and was focussing on the Indian market.

On Toyota's proposed 'strategic small car', Nakagawa said," If we succeed in India, we will launch it in other markets like Russia and Brazil etc," he said.

The Japanese car maker has plans to launch the small car in the Indian market by 2010.

TKM, which is a joint venture between Japan's Toyota Motor and India's Kirloskar Group, currently produces the Corolla and IMV series of Innova (MUV) with a production of 60,000 vehicles in 2007.

Toyota Motor holds 89 per cent equity stake in TKM and Kirloskar Group the remaining 11 per cent.