Toyota Kirloskar sales drop 48% to 5,386 units in July

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Saturday reported a 48.32 per cent decline in domestic vehicle sales to 5,386 units in July compared to 10,423 units in the same month last year.

The company had clocked domestic sales of 3,866 units in June. "Despite various challenges, the month of July witnessed better sales in terms of both retail and wholesales when compared to June," TKM Senior Vice-President, Sales and Service, Naveen Soni said in a statement.

The first month post unlock, June, witnessed demand rekindling and retails being very good due to several factors, including pending customer orders as well as pent up demand accumulated as a result of the extended lockdown, he said. "However in July, as a result of sporadic lockdowns and extensions being imposed in several parts of the country, lead us to a situation wherein our business was closed up to 20 per cent of the market, in and around mid-July," Soni said.

It was due to the rest of the 80 per cent of the business that has helped the company close the month with a higher than June retails, he added. The lockdown called upon Bangalore also caused the automaker to temporarily shutdown its plant for four days last month as a result of which it produced less than the numbers it had planned, he noted.

"We intend to catch up on both retails and wholesales beginning the festive month of August. Moreover, we are very excited to announce our foray into the very dynamic compact SUV segment this festive season," Soni said.