Utilising capacity fully is the priority: Toyota Kirloskar

Automaker confident of Centre’s support to industry, jobs

BENGALURU, KARNATAKA, 22/09/2016: A view of the Toyota Kirloskar Motor Plant at Bidadi Industrial area near Bengaluru on September 22, 2016. Photo: G.R.N. Somashekar

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Tuesday said its first priority was to ensure full utilisation of production capacity it had already created in the country.

The company has an installed capacity of 3.1 lakh units spread across two plants in Bidadi, near Bengaluru. “Our first step is to ensure full capacity utilisation of what we have created and this will take time,” TKM said in a statement.

In an interview with

Bloomberg earlier, TKM vice chairman Shekar Viswanathan said that the government kept taxes on cars and motorbikes so high that firms found it hard to build scale.

Committed to India

The company later said it continued to be committed to the Indian market, and its operations in the country were an integral part of Toyota’s global strategy.

“We remain confident that the government will do everything possible to support the industry and employment. We recognise the strong proactive efforts being made by the government to support various sectors of the economy and appreciate the fact that it is open to examine this issue despite the current challenging revenue situation,” the firm added.

TKM’s recent partnership with Suzuki in India on sharing technology and best practices are also in support of the ‘Make in India’ initiative and the government’s policy, and aim to enhance the competitiveness of both firms, the automaker said.