Toyota Yaris launched, carmaker says Rupee will not impact launches

Toyota Kirloskar Motor has said that the overall automotive market in India is looking very good and the fall in rupee will not impact product launches. “If there is a runaway depreciation of the rupee, it will only accelerate the process of indigenisation. In any case, we have a long-term plan to localise. While it depends on model to model, it is 87% in the case of level one of Yaris sedan and we can go up to 91-92% in the order of the magnitude. We will never be able to achieve 100% as there will be some bit that will always be imported and it is good as well,” said Shekar Viswanathan, vice chairman and whole-time director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

He said the company’s Etios sedan currently has the highest level of indigenisation at 90%. “We are not looking at a price increase. We will have to wait and watch. This is a very dynamic situation the way the rupee is behaving. Just a month ago, it all looked okay and things have changed in the last few weeks.” He said the rupee fall and crude oil prices heading north are matters of concern for every industry. “Unfortunately, these are not in the control of the auto industry as such and are dependent on global forces,” said Viswanathan.

While the majority of good and services tax (GST) troubles are a thing of the past, Toyota Kirloskar Motor is hoping for rationalisation of the tax rate on hybrid cars. “The hybrids do merit a lower rate of tax. What that rate will be is something we’ll leave to the government,” said Viswanathan on the sidelines of the launch of Toyota Yaris sedan in Mumbai last week.

“Approximately 1,000 Yaris sedans are expected to be delivered in the few days of the launch. We are planning to ship over 4,000 Yaris sedans across the country by the end of May,” said Viswanathan, adding that while Toyota Kirloskar has a market share 5-6% by volume, it is significantly higher in terms of value.

R K Ramesh, general manager, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said the company is working on two month’s production of customer orders and looking at an annual production of 30,000 to 40,000 cars in the first year.

(By Ashish K Tiwari, DNA)