Toyota looking to set up third manufacturing plant in India

Japanese auto major Toyota is looking to set up a third manufacturing plant in India with its two facilities in the country running at almost full capacity, according to industry sources.

Bengaluru-based Toyota Kirloskar Motor, a joint venture between Toyota Motor Company and Kirloskar Group, currently operates two plants in the country with a total production capacity of around 3.42 lakh units per annum.

With enhanced demand leading to long waiting periods on certain products, the automaker is now looking to set up a third plant in the country, sources said.

However, details about the production capacity, location and investment in the new plant could not be immediately ascertained.

When contacted, a TKM spokesperson said: "We would like to refrain from commenting on speculations and future plans."

In May this year, the company initiated a third shift at its Bidadi-based plant near Bengaluru to enhance production capacity by about 30 per cent as it looked to cut down waiting periods on some of its models.

TKM invested over Rs 90 crore to upgrade the existing infrastructure at the facility and added about 1,500 workforce for the third shift at the plant.

The automaker has two facilities within the Bidadi compound, which roll out different sets of products.

TKM's Plant 1 commenced production in December 1999 and currently rolls out Innova Hycross, Innova Crysta, Fortuner, and Legender.

It has an installed production capacity of 1.32 lakh units per annum.

The second plant at the same site, with an installed production capacity of 2.10 lakh units, rolls out products like Camry Hybrid, Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Hilux.

The facility commenced production in December 2010.

The company also sells models like Glanza and Rumion which are sourced from Maruti Suzuki India as part of a global collaboration between Suzuki and Toyota.

It also imports Vellfire and LC 300 as completely built up units (CBU).

TKM has seen a robust increase in demand for its models this year.

In the January-August period, its sales grew by 34 per cent to 1,47,192 units from 1,09,669 units in the same period of last year.

With an increase in bookings, the waiting period for some of the company's products has crossed the one-year mark.

On September 23, the automaker announced to temporarily halt bookings of the E-CNG option of Rumion MPV to avoid customer inconvenience due to the long waiting period.

In April this year, TKM temporarily halted bookings of top trims of its multi-purpose vehicle Innova Hycross owing to supply challenges.

Last year, it stopped taking orders for the diesel variant of Innova Crysta due to high demand and an increased waiting period.