Guwahati: Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) will be investing a whopping amount of over Rs 2,000 crore in the coming 12 months for the electrification of cars in India. TKM vice-chairman Vikram Kirloskar confirmed the same on Tuesday. The announcement came while refuting a statement from a senior TKM official saying that the company would stop its further expansion in India due to high taxes.
In an interview to Bloomberg earlier on Tuesday, TKM vice-chairman and whole-time director Shekhar Viswanathan said that TKM would stop its further expansion in India ruling out on any future investments, as the government takes on cars and motorbikes remain so high that the companies find it difficult to build scale.
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Reacting to the reports of TKM’s alleged plans of stopping expansions in India, Union heavy industries minister Prakash Javedkar took to Twitter to clarify that all the reports were incorrect.
“The news that Toyota Company will stop investing in India is incorrect. @vikramkirloskar has clarified that Toyota will invest more than ₹2,000 crore in next 12 months,” the minister tweeted.
The news that Toyota Company will stop investing in India is incorrect. @vikramkirloskar has clarified that Toyota will invest more than Rs 2000 crore in next 12 months.@PIB_India
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) September 15, 2020
Supporting the minister’s remark, TKM vice-chairman Vikram Kirloskar also took to Twitter to confirm the same.
“Absolutely! We are investing 2000 crs in electric components and technology for the domestic customer and export. We are committed to the future of India and will continue to put all effort in society, environment, skilling and technology.”
Absolutely! We are investing 2000+ crs in electric components and technology for the domestic customer and export. We are committed to the future of India and will continue to put all effort in society, environment, skilling and technology.
— Vikram Kirloskar (@vikramkirloskar) September 15, 2020
TKM rolls out its best sellers Innova and Fortuner along with the imported Completely Built Up (CBU) unit Vellfire from its first plant in Bengaluru, while the comparatively newer models like the Yaris and Camry Hybrid are rolled out from its second plant in Bidadi, near Bengaluru.
Earlier on Wednesday, the TKM announced leading Bollywood star Ayushman Khurana as the brand ambassador for the all-new Toyota Urban Cruiser, a Toyota spin-off of a Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. The Urban Cruiser which is set to be launched on September 23, 2020, is Toyota’s second spin-off project of a Maruti car, the first one being the Maruti Suzuki Baleno hatchback which is sold as the Toyota Glanza in the Indian market.
