Toyota Kirloskar Motor said that it is ready with “Plan B” to offset the possible loss in unit sales due to the ban on sale of diesel vehicles both in NCR region as well as Kerala.
The company hinted at introduction of petrol variant of Innova to maintain the leadership in the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) segment.
Hit hard by the diesel vehicle ban in NCR region (effective last December) for above 2,000 CC and followed by Kerala government’s decision to ban fresh registration of vehicles in this category, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, the market leader in the Indian MPV segment, could see 13% fall in its unit sales of the total volume as of now.
“It cannot be said exactly what would be the overall impact during the fiscal as the Supreme Court’s final judgment on ban is expected in next few weeks. We, the industry, are anxiously waiting for the judgment and we hope it may give us relief from its earlier order,” said Akito Tachibana, managing director, TKM.
Akito, who was in Chennai for opening company’s driving school on Wednesday, said: “Whatever be the outcome of the SC’s final order, we have to comply with it. But it is unfortunate that vehicles above 2,000 CC only been banned. Its uncalled for at this point of time, when the government is yet to frame policy initiatives for long-term investments, particularly on the diesel front.”
To a specific question on whether the company has Plan B as an alternative to offset any negative outcome in due course of time, Akito, said: “Yes, we have Plan B. We have to move to petrol variants. We are evaluating the possibility of introducing petrol version of Innova and we are ready with the engine tech. We have Innovas running with petrol engine globally and Indonesia is one such market for us to point out.”
