Toyota's sales pick up in August but remains lower than month figures of 2019
Toyota Kirloskar Motor managed to sell 5,555 units in the domestic market in the month of August. This was a slight increase over sales figures in the preceding month of July in which 5,386 units were sold. Compared to sales figures in August of 2020 when the company had sold 10,701 units, the latest numbers remain a rather pale shadow.
Sales figures in August may have been affected by rising Covid-19 cases in the state of Karnataka where Toyota has its main production facility. Naveen Soni, Sr. Vice President, Sales and Service at TKM, informed in a press statement that this could have had an impact even if demand picked up as the month progressed. "We began August with a lot of apprehensions due to the skewed rise in Covid positive cases in Karnataka state and throughout the country. It had a resultant impact on both the demand & supply scenarios," he said. "Fortunately, August witnessed an increase in demand for most of our models akin to pre-Covid times, including customer enquiries and orders."
Soni also added that supplying vehicles remained a challenge to dealers. "Supplying vehicles from our end (to dealers) posed as a challenge due to the rising number of Covid cases in Bangalore and its surrounding areas, where most of our workforce resides. This even lead us to ramp down production to a single shift so as to be able to ensure that we are taking all measures to safeguard the health and safety," he informed.
Those Toyota workers who had tested positive for Covid-19 have since recovered and the company is confident of returning to full capacity. The upcoming launch of Urban Cruiser sub-compact SUV also augers well for it as Toyota looks to hit big. "We also announced the opening of bookings for the much awaited Urban Cruiser in August," said Soni. "The upcoming launch model has generated a lot of interest, from our customers and the market alike."
