Bengaluru: Reversing the monthly trend, Japanese global car maker’s joint venture (JV) Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Monday said its domestic sales grew 10 per cent in December over the same period year ago and from a 15 per cent decline in November.
“We sold 11,830 units in the domestic market in December against 10,793 units in the same month in 2017,” said the city-based company in a statement here.
The JV sold 10,721 units in November against 12,734 units in the same month a year ago.
Export of its Etios model, however, declined to 653 units this month from 812 units in the like month a year ago.
“We are closing the year on a positive note despite dampening effect on consumer sentiment owing to hike in fuel prices, higher interest rates and increase in insurance premium,” said TKM Deputy Managing Director N. Raja.
The company’s multi-utility vehicle Innova Crysta posted a record sales growth through the year in spite of the challenges auto sector faced.
“Innova and Fortuner sustained their leadership in the segment since their launch in 2016,” said the statement but did not give the number of units sold with comparative annual data to measure their annual growth.
“Though the buying sentiment had slowed in the last few months owing to adverse effects of macroeconomic factors, our sales in the January-December period grew 9 per cent annually compared to the same period of 2017,” added Raja.
Sedan Toyota Yatris, which was launched early this year, also contributed to the company’s annual sales growth. Models like Etios and Liva sustained the sales momentum.
The two-decade-old JV of Toyota Motor Corporation and the Pune-based Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, with the Japanese auto major holding 89 per cent of the equity, has two assembly plants with 3.1-lakh units combined installed production capacity per annum.
The JV rolls out a range of models, including Innova multi-utility vehicle, Camry sedan, Prius hybrid, Corolla Altis, Etios, Prado and Land Cruiser, with some of them imported as completely built units.
[source_without_link]IANS[/source_without_link]