After a brief period of lull Toyota is back with the new Corolla Altis, which
according to industry sources is scheduled for launch in early September 2008.
With the Innova as the mainstay in the Indian market after it replaced the
hugely successful Qualis in 2005, Toyota has been selling the Camry and Corolla
in addition to the Innova. A small range from a manufacturer, who almost grabbed
the world's No. 1 auto manufacturer title from GM, when it comes to India many
would think. Even Honda has got a better spread with a range of locally made and
completely built imported units.
The new Corolla Altis is expected to give the company a renewed thrust in a
segment that has shown growth recently. But a glance beyond the Altis and it is
clear that Toyota has been working its way to claim the title of Indian's
biggest auto manufacturer some day. On July 31, 2008 the company held an
official ceremony to mark the beginning of construction of the second plant of
its automobile production and sales company. Speaking on the occasion, Toyota
Motor Corporation senior managing director Akira Okabe expressed, "We hope
to establish in Karnataka a firm base for our monozukuri culture - which
combines production technologies based on the Toyota Production System and human
resources development - and to be able to contribute to the growth of India
through our activities in Karnataka. "The new plant, which is located in
close vicinity to the current plant where the Innova and Corolla are put
together, will double Toyota's investment in India to Rs 2,800 crore. Toyota's
current investment stands at Rs1400 crores approximately and should also include
the export oriented transmissions facility, TKAP, which supplies transmission
assemblies to Toyota's IMV project of which the Innova is also a part. Scheduled
to have an annual production capacity of 100,000 passenger vehicles including
the Innova and Corolla, the plant will start operations in the year 2010.
 The
highlight of the new plant would be a new compact vehicle, which is claimed to
be based on the popular Yaris and would be sold in the Indian market as well as
exported to a selected few other markets. Sources at Toyota prefer to call the
car as a new small strategic vehicle and say no more than that. The term
strategic, claim industry experts, points in the direction of Toyota turning the
Indian production hub into a strategic small car hub for various reasons like
costs and the availability of skilled manpower. While the other models produced
in India could include the IMV range and Toyota, the strategic small car could
mean volume production for Toyota. While the strategic small car is expected to
carry at a local content of up to 60-65 per cent by the time it rolls out of the
new plant in 2010, it remains to be seen if Toyota would export it to markets
like Thailand where it already has a sizeable operation.
Interestingly, both the Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) plants would play an
important role in Toyota Motor Corporation's
sustainable plant activities say company sources. These seek to emphasise the
role of nature in creating production sites that are in harmony with their
natural surroundings, by pursuing the following initiatives like reducing energy
consumption through the introduction of production technology with lower CO2
emissions, using renewable energy sources, such as biomass, solar and wind
power, striving for a harmonious coexistence with the local community through
such activities as planting trees at plants and reducing environmental impact
through measures such as introducing a wastewater recycling system, using
water-borne paints, and achieving zero landfill waste.
TKM is a joint venture automobile production and sales company, established on
the outskirts of Bangalore in 1997 by Toyota Motor Corporation and the Kirloskar
Group. The company produced 52,000 vehicles in 2007.
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