Toyota is contemplating increasing the exports for its Etios range. The mediocre demand for the range in the Indian market and the subsequent under-utilisation of the factory capacity has triggered this move.
The sales of the Innova Crysta and the Fortuner have been burgeoning, though the same cannot be said for the Etios range. Toyota has a production facility in Bidadi, Karnataka with an overall production capacity of 3.1 lakh units a year. While the unit which produces the utility vehicles is running at 95 - 97 per cent capacity, the other unit producing the Etios range, Corolla and the Camry is running at just 50 per cent of its capacity. As such, the company has sent a proposal to the headquarters in Japan to increase exports and to make better use of the 2.1 lakh unit capacity of the production unit.
Toyota will only be focussing on exporting the Etios range, as popular cars like Corolla and Camry already have a high level of localisation in their respective markets. Currently, Toyota exports 50,000 cars per year to South Africa. The company hopes to add more right-hand-drive countries to the list once the proposal is approved by Toyota Japan. However, the plan is still at an early stage and it might be a while before the company can begin shipping off its products.
Source: ETAuto
