Date:26/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/12/26/stories/2006122601010200.htm

Back Toyota-Kirloskar may seek more land for expansion

K. Giriprakash

Mulls making hatchback, sedan versions to increase market share

Serious discussions are underway on how to make the car, which adheres to the strict safety standards of Toyota and at the same time is affordable, sources said.

Bangalore , Dec. 25

Toyota-Kirloskar may seek additional land for its second phase of expansion even as it is looking at two more models, a hatchback and a sedan, in its run-up to get a 10 per cent share of the Indian car market.

Sources close to the company told Business Line that at least two models - hatchback and a sedan - with a volume of around 1.75 lakh units, is currently under discussion among the head honchos of the company. A final call will be made during the first quarter of next year.

Facilities

The new plant should start manufacturing cars by 2009, sources said. They said the additional land is being sought for setting up facilities for suppliers.

The company expects 10-15 units, including some Japanese companies, to set up a shop there.

A housing facility is also being planned, sources said.

Rail linkage

Toyota also wants a rail linkage with the nearest station, which is Bidadi, for transporting the new cars. This will avoid transporting cars by road, they said. The rail linkage will allow Toyota to supply the cars to various dealers at a faster pace, sources said.

Safety standards

With the current conditions of the road and as the Toyota plant is close to the busy Bangalore-Mysore highway, the rail linkage is one of the ideas being seriously discussed, sources said.

The engineering, planning and the marketing departments have been given specifications on how the new models should be. Serious discussions are under way on how to make the car, which adheres to the strict safety standards of Toyota and at the same time is affordable, sources said.

"It is a lot of hard work but almost everyone with the project are racing against time to see that the project becomes a reality," a source said.

The additional land of around 300 acres will help suppliers to deliver products faster and also reduce time, sources said. A housing complex nearby is also under consideration.

Currently, Toyota-Kirloskar has around 400 acres of land, of which only about 130-140 acres is being utilised.