Toyota's small car to be launched by end 2010

Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Tuesday said it would launch its small car by the end of 2010, by when its plant in Bangalore will be ready.

'We will launch our small car by 2010. Our plant for the small car in Bangalore will be ready by that time,' Toyota Kirloskar Motor's Deputy Managing Director Sandeep Singh told PTI in Mumbai.

Singh was in the city to launch Toyota Land Cruiser - a premium SUV. It is priced at ₹81.64-lakh ex-showroom Thane.

The company is investing close to ₹3,000 crore for its small car plant in Bangalore, Singh said. However, it has decided to scale down the production of the small car from 1 lakh to 70,000 units because of a fall in demand.

'We will make only 70,000 small cars from our plant. The demand for vehicles has fallen by 30 per cent,' he said. The company has not yet decided on the price of the small car, but it would run on gas, he said.

About 70 per cent of the inputs for the small car would be sourced from within India, he said. 'If we do not source inputs within India, then it won't be cost- competitive,' Singh said.

Presently, the company has 85 dealers throughout the country. It would go up to 95 by the end of this calendar year. By the end-2010, it would be 150, he said.