Toyota to set up its third plant in India, production to commence in 2026

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Karnataka government on Tuesday to set up a new production facility in the state, which will be operational from 2026. This is going to be the third manufacturing plant of the company in India. Once completed and functional, the new car manufacturing facility is claimed to ramp up the Japanese automobile manufacturer's production capacity by 100,000 units annually. This new facility will be located in Bidadi, where Toyota has its other two manufacturing plants. The new facility will be manufacturing cars like Innova HyCross and HyRyder besides upcoming models.

Toyota has further stated that it will invest about ₹3,300 crore for building the new production facility in Karnataka, which will be its third in India. Also, this plant is claimed to create employment opportunities for approximately 2,000 people. The Japanese car manufacturer has claimed that the decision to set up the new manufacturing facility comes as part of the auto company's strategy to increase local production in India. The company currently operates two plants in India with a total production capacity of around 3.42 lakh units per annum. The automaker has planned two shifts for the new plant that can be scaled up with a third shift if and when needed. Currently, the two production facilities of the automaker are working three shifts to cater to pending orders.

Watch: Toyota Innova HyCross: First Drive Impressions

Speaking about the new production facility, Masahiko Maeda, Chief Operating Officer of Asia region for the carmaker, said that the Indian market has always been of great importance to the company. He also said that Toyota is hopeful that this new production facility will further elevate the automaker's ambition to grow in the Indian market and globally. He also hinted that the new plant will play a crucial role in the brand's strategy to make greener powertrain-equipped cars.

TKM started operations at its first plant in India in December 1999, which currently manufactures models like Innova Hycross, Innova Crysta, Fortuner and Legender. This facility has an installed production capacity of 1.32 lakh units every year. The second plant of the automaker is located at the same site and started production in December 2010. This facility has an annual production capacity of 2.10 lakh units and it rolls out models like Camry Hybrid, Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Hilux. TKM also sells models like Glanza and Rumion in India, which are sourced from Maruti Suzuki as part of the global collaboration between Suzuki and Toyota. The automaker also imports the Vellfire and LC 300 models to India as Completely Built Units (CBU).