Innova, Fortuner help Toyota Kirloskar Motor shine in June

Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Monday reported its best-ever sales month in India with as many as 27,474 units sold in June, up by 40 per cent when compared to June of 2023. Crediting the continuing popularity of its SUVs and MPVs like Innova Crysta and Fortuner, Toyota has also pointed to a good initial response to the Taisor, a crossover SUV based on Maruti Suzuki Fronx.

Toyota sold a total of 25,752 units in the domestic Indian market in June while another 1,722 units were exported. The performance in the first six months of 2024 has also been credibly positive with a total of 1,50,250 units sold as against 1,02,371 units in the first six months of 2023.

While Toyota has attempted to diversify its product portfolio, it is the continuing dominance of Innova Crysta and Fortuner in respective segments that is still forming the core of the sales push. Additionally, company officials point to enhancing customer experience at dealerships and workshops as crucial factors. “Our product strategy and continued focus on offering a delightful ownership experience across all touchpoints allowed us to maintain a consistently strong performance," said Sabari Manohar, Vice President, Sales-Service-Used Car Business, Toyota Kirloskar Motor. "Notably, we achieved our highest ever monthly sales of 27,474 units in June, and the overall 47 per cent growth for the calendar year highlights the success of our invigorated strategy.

Toyota's bet in India

Toyota Kirloskar Motor established its first plant in India back in 1997 with production starting from December of 1999 in Karnataka's Bidadi. The facility currently rolls out models like Innova HyCross, Innova Crysta, Fortuner, and Legender. The company's second plant also came up in Bidadi in 2010 and is home to models like Camry Hybrid, Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Hilux. The Vellfire comes in via the import route.

Barring Camry, all models sold with the Toyota logo in the country are either SUVs, MPVs or in the pick-up truck category. The first two segments have grown exponentially in the Indian car market in recent years, benefiting Toyota here. But recent years have also seen competition increasing, especially in the mid-size and sub-compact SUV spaces. Toyota offers the Urban Cruiser Hyryder in the former while only now has the Taisor as a sub-four-meter SUV.

Watch: Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor review: Can it replicate sibling Maruti Fronx’s success?

The company also does not have a full-electric car in the Indian market yet even though it had showcased its bZ4X EV at the 2023 Auto Expo in Greater Noida.

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