HIghway star

Calcutta, Sept. 14: Toyota Kirloskar Motors Pvt Ltd plans to hike the prices of all its models by the end of this calendar year to counter the impact of rising input costs and high interest rates.

This will be Toyota’s second price hike after the marginal increase of two per cent in July this year.

“The original equipment manufacturers are facing pressure with costs escalating on all sides. Toyota has been less affected as it operates in the premium segment where the impact is cushioned. However, we would be taking a call on a second round of price hike by the end of this calendar year,” said Yugo Miyamoto, senior executive-coordinator (sales operations and dealer development division) of Toyota Kirloskar Motors Pvt Ltd.

The company has registered a 10 per cent rise in sales between January and August this year. Sales, however, has been sluggish in the last two months.

In the eastern region, Toyota’s sales have risen 12 per cent between January and August.

The world’s biggest car maker in terms of volume is on track to attain a 10 per cent share of the Indian market by 2015.

“We might seem slow, but at Toyota we study the market for some time before taking any measure. We think India is ready and we will launch one model every year which will enable us to attain a 10 per cent market share by 2015,” Miyamoto said.

The company’s second plant at Bidadi near Bangalore will start production by the middle of 2010.

It will initially have a capacity of one lakh units which can be later scaled up to 1.5-2 lakh units per annum.

Export hub

The auto maker is also set to make India the export hub for its small car, slated for a launch in 2010.

“Since the car will be launched in India first and then other countries, we could be looking at increasing our export offerings from India by using the country as a hub for our small car,” said Miyamoto.

At present, the company exports axles and transmissions to Southeast Asia through TKM Auto Parts Ltd. Once the second plant goes onstream, Toyota can also look to set up an engine manufacturing unit.