As per some reports, Toyota Kirloskar India is contemplating the introduction of the luxury brand Lexus in the Indian car market. If reports are really true, then this could actually boost the company’s sales in India, as the country’s luxury segment is becoming increasingly lucrative. According to a report that was published in a reputed journal, the Managing Director of Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), Naomi Ishii revealed that it is his dream to bring in the Lexus brand to India.
Lexus nx crossover
Ishii said that the company sees a lot of opportunity in the Indian car market now. This is because the company can witness that the three German luxury brands are doing quite well in India. He added that he feels that the company really needs to bring in the Lexus here. Ishii also pointed out that in the luxury car segment in India, the company wishes to be different than that of the major German players.
Despite the consistent decline in the new car sales in India over the last two years, the luxury car segment is the only one that has seen considerable growth in India, with a healthy margin of 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles per year. Needless to say, that the major chunk of this sales growth was witnessed by the three German luxury car behemoths, namely Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. As the German luxury trio is doing well in the Indian luxury car segment, the world’s largest car maker, the Japanese Toyota Motor thinks that the Indian auto market is mature enough to launch its very own luxury brand Lexus.
Toyota Kirloskar’s maximum sales numbers are currently coming from its Etios sedan and the Etios Liva hatchback. However, Mr. Ishii said that the company is not happy with the overall volume and is now planning to expand its footprint to the tier 2 and 3 non-metro cities of India to reach out to a larger group of customers.
The company has recently launched a new member in the Etios series in the form of the Etios Cross, and has also launched the all new 2014 Corolla sedan. Both the cars have launched in India last month and are receiving good amounts of bookings.
The very muscular and trendy looking Etios Cross is a beefed-up version of the Etios Liva hatchback, and is expected to be a good seller. Priced at Rs. 5.76 lakhs, the Etios Cross is competing with the likes of Volkswagen Polo Cross. On the other hand, the 2014 Toyota Corolla is expected to boost the company’s sales considerably. The 11th generation sedan model comes with a new bold visual appeal, stylized and sharp front fascia, enhanced interiors and better ride and handling features. These two new cars from Toyota Kirloskar are expected to give satisfactory sales rates this year after a long sales slump.
As for the introduction of the Lexus in India, Toyota Kirloskar may bring it sooner than later considering that it has already announced that it will only focus on the bigger and more expensive cars.
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Tagged: Toyota Lexus
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