Toyota Doubles Footprint In India

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

In a race to get a more solid foothold in India, Toyota is nearly doubling its production capacity on the subcontinent. Much to the chagrin of some Indians, the country is called the “next China.” Currently, the market is dominated by Suzuki, which owns nearly half. Hyundai and Mahindra hold sizable shares – all of which bugs the world’s largest carmakers to no end.

Toyota has answered the call with its developed-in-India-for-emerging-markets Etios and is now seeking to enlarge its footprint. At the cost 17.2 billion yen ($ 220 million) Toyota will expand its capacity in India to 310,000 units in 2013, up from 160,000 units at the moment.

No changes in the product portfolio have been announced. Toyota produces the Fortuner, Corolla, Etios and Etios Liva locally and imports (while paying obscene customs duties) the Camry, Prado, Prius and Land Cruiser 200.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
 7 comments
  • Athos Nobile Athos Nobile on Jul 27, 2011

    I guess they're going to use the low cost factory model featured here some months ago.

  • Camchennai Camchennai on Jul 27, 2011

    @Bertel Schmitt - Nice set of images you have put up for illustration....where did you get those?? Yeah Toyota is very serious about Indian market and they are expanding their foot print in terms of both manufacturing and dealership. I own 2 Toyota cars and i love their brand

    • See 2 previous
    • JD-Tippit JD-Tippit on Jul 28, 2011

      Look, you can't live under that illusion anymore and be totally loyal to a brand - that's why India has a somewhat immature consumer culture. Judge the product, not the brand. Toyota has sold some really bomb vehicles in India too, while reliable and good quality, they were definitely not the latest nor greatest. Think Qualis - a car which I owned in the 1980s, or the Etios a real bare bones, stripped out box on wheels, that really would not sell anywhere else but in India. I've heard that the quality of steel, materials etc is sometimes 35% of the same car in Europe/Australia - plausible when you look at the price difference. For example, in Australia the VW Polo sells with 12 year anti-corrosion warranty, in India it's only 6 years. There are subtle differences in the options too. I would prefer to buy the imported vehicles if I lived there.

  • Eldard Eldard on Jul 27, 2011

    Once BRIC citizens realize how crappy GM, VW and Suzuki cars really are, you can guess who's gonna have a windfall. ;)

  • Robert.Walter Robert.Walter on Jul 28, 2011

    Ford appears to be on the same path, but with a larger investment (1G USD) to add 2 new plants with 250k cars/yr and 270k engines per year capacity. "India, where passenger car sales grew 29 percent in the last fiscal year, to 2.5 million... Ford expects a “dramatic spike up in India” by the middle of the decade as incomes increase". No doubt, this kind of near-term growth, and growth potential tends to draw investment. Esp when one's established markets are mature, stagnating and sufferng from structural economic problems... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/business/ford-to-increase-its-plant-capacity-in-india.html?ref=global-home

Next