Toyota Kirloskar sales dip 19 per cent in June

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Monday reported a 19 per cent decline in total vehicle sales to 11,365 units in June this year. The company had sold 14,102 units in June 2018. In the domestic market, the company reported sales of 10,603 units last month, down 19 per cent, as compared to 13,088 units in June 2018, TKM said in a statement.

Commenting on the sales performance, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Deputy Managing Director N Raja, said, “The industry has been witnessing a continuous decline in domestic sales owing to several factors that have contributed to the weak consumer sentiment.”

The prevailing economic uncertainty, uncertainty on monsoons, high interest costs, tight liquidity and also the underlying apprehensions surrounding BS-VI introduction in few months have steered the slowdown, he added.

“We, at Toyota, always strive to support our dealers through any business challenges, we have consciously lowered the volume of vehicles sold to dealers ensuring minimum burden on our dealer partners amid low buying sentiments,” Raja said.

During January-June 2019, the company reported sales of 68,652 units, down 10 per cent from 75,992 units in same period last year.

Recently, Toyota Glanza, the much-awaited premium hatchback, was launched on Thursday in India at the price range of Rs 7.22 lakh to Rs 8.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Toyota also announced that the bookings for the Glanza have officially opened from today for a token amount of Rs 11,000 and the company will give the delivery of the car within this week.

It is to be noted that Toyota Glanza is the first product of the partnership between Toyota and Maruti Suzuki. Back in 2017, the two Japanese automobile manufacturers had agreed to make an alliance in areas including environmental, information and safety technologies and mutual supply of products and components.

Interestingly, Toyota Glanza is the first premium hatchback to be launched by Toyota Kirloskar Motors in India. The premium hatchback will be offered in two variants - G and V, in four different iterations depending on the engine and transmission i.e. G MT, V MT, G CVT, and V CVT. The petrol engine on the Toyota Glanza are BS6 compliant, while there are no diesel engine options.

(With inputs from PTI)