Toyota to start auctioning used cars in India

Following what they have been doing globally, Toyota will start auctioning used cars in India as well. These will include used cars of all makes from all brands.

Toyota has already planned to launch a Toyota Auction Mart in September at Bengaluru. The auction facility has been set up in Bidadi and will be functional from next month onwards. Toyota's engineers will inspect, certify and rate all used cars on 203 parameters to assess their worth and price for the auction. The customers will have a final say in the auction of their used car.

The auction business will be a first of its kind for the manufacturer in India, though the company has a similar business overseas. Toyota auctions cars in Japan through its own companies named Toyota Auto Auction and Chubu Auto Auction and in Taiwan it auctions them through Hotai Auto Auction.

This new Auction Mart will help expand Toyota's used car business in India, which is operated under the Toyota U-Trust brand. This business was launched in 2007 and is present in 56 markets across 19 states in our country.

Toyota's main objective in introducing this new business is to expand its used car property as the company's new car sales in the Indian market have been sluggish. Toyota will also have to watch out for established rivals like Maruti's True Value brand and Mahindra First Choice.

Source: ET