Toyota Kirloskar Motor sells 5,386 units in July, plots entry into compact SUV market this year

Toyota Kirloskar Motor has sold a total of 5386 units in July 2020, registering 40% month-on-month growth in wholesales (June 2020: 3,866) but down 48% year  on year (July 2019: 10,423). The big news though is that the Japanese carmaker has confirmed plans to enter India's compact SUV market, a segment which is seeing robust growth. 

Commenting on the month’s performance, Naveen Soni, senior VP (Sales & Service), TKM said, “Despite various challenges, July witnessed better sales in terms of both retail and wholesales when compared to June. The first month post unlock (June) witnessed demand rekindling and retails being very good due to several factors including  pending customer orders as well as pent up demand accumulated as a result of the extended lockdown. However in July, as a result of sporadic lockdowns and extensions being imposed in several parts of the country, lad us to a situation wherein our business was closed up to 20% of the market, in and around mid-July. It was due to the rest of the 80% of our business that has helped us close the month with a higher than June retails. Similarly, the lockdown called upon Bangalore also caused us to temporarily shutdown our plant for 4 days last month as a result of which we produced less than the numbers we had planned. At TKM, we fully understand and appreciate the balancing act by the Government in addressing health threats and we will continue to adhere to the guidelines issued by the authorities. However, timely and clear instructions will help industrial units, better plan their production cycles and logistics including workforce and raw material movement”.

Toyota to enter compact SUV market
The company also announced its foray into the very dynamic compact SUV segment this festive season along with its upcoming compact SUV.  

“We intend to catch up on both retails and wholesales beginning the festive month of August. Moreover, we are very excited to announce our foray into the very dynamic compact SUV segment this festive season. We are aware of the expectations our customers have from the brand and fulfilling their expectations and catering to their mobility needs has always been our most important objective,” he concluded.