Toyota Group of Companies will invest ₹4,800 crore in Karnataka for the local production of powertrain parts, components of electric vehicles, and also to boost innovation around electrification and greener technologies.
The companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Karnataka to invest ₹4,100 crore on Saturday. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) along with Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts (TKAP) will put in ₹4,100 crore, while a related company, Toyota Industries Engine India (TIEI), will pitch in with another ₹700 crore later.
Vikram S. Kirloskar, Vice-Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “We are investing ₹4,800 crore to enable a faster reduction in carbon emissions. Half of this investment has already been made while the remaining will be executed by mid next year,’‘ he told The Hindu.
The investments are aimed at promoting greener technologies that will help Toyota lower its dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate carbon emissions. This investment will also enable local production facilities to build electric powertrain parts and components, thereby catering to the electrified vehicle manufacturing in India, as per the MoU.
According to Mr. Kirloskar, the company will continue to focus on reducing carbon emissions in a holistic manner going beyond tailpipe emissions to address manufacturing and lifecycle CO2 emissions to achieve its carbon neutrality goals by 2050.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who is also a mechanical engineer, urged Toyota Kirloskar Motor to bring in new, indigenous technologies in India, instead of modifying some vehicle models launched elsewhere. “I want Toyota to use new technology and bring new vehicles which are not launched anywhere in the world. Don’t bring old dyes and show them as a new ones. My engineering instinct will not accept it though as a Chief Minister I may say it’s okay,” Mr. Bommai said at the event here on Saturday.
In the last 25 years, Toyota Group of Companies has invested ₹11,812 crore in India.
