Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Dec 14, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Dec 14, 2002 |
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Cars Marketing - Strategy Toyota to launch Corolla in three models in mid-Jan Sudha Menon
PUNE, Dec. 13 TOYOTA Kirloskar Motor Ltd (TKML) is all set to launch what is probably its best-loved car globally, the Corolla, in the domestic market in the first flush of the New Year, in mid-January. Top sources told Business Line the company would launch the Corolla 2003, which debuted in Japan in September 2002, on Indian roads in three versions designed to cater to a spectrum of potential buyers. Sources said the premium version of the car, the 1.8g, will be a fully loaded auto transmission car with features such as airbags for driver and passenger, six CD changer and leather upholstery while the 1.8e will be a mid-segment, manual transmission car with features that other cars in the segment sport. TKML will also launch a stripped-down version of the car, the 1.8j, which will be a manual transmission car intended to cater to the highly price-conscious buyer in the mid-size car market. "Prices will range from Rs 13 lakh for the premium product to just above Rs 9 lakh for the stripped-down car,'' sources said. "The idea is to simultaneously target the entire spectrum of buyers from the Hyundai Sonata and Honda Accord in the premium segment to the Octavia in the mid-segment to the Honda City and the Lancer in the lower end''. TKML officials - including the Deputy Managing Director, Mr. K.K. Swamy - remained unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts to contact them. According to details available with this newspaper, the company is planning a high-profile celebrity launch of the car in the capital in mid-January followed by launches in Mumbai and Bangalore in the first week of February. The car will be nationally rolled out in the same month. Sources said TKML would import an initial lot of approximately 2,000 units of the Corolla from its Thailand facilities in CKD form to fulfil the early demand in the market. Plans are being firmed up to commence manufacturing at its Bidadi plant by March 2003. The Toyota Corolla has occupied top slot for a record 34 years in Japan and is a top grosser in the discerning US and West Asian markets. In India, sources said, the company would position the car as one of the safest available across segments and as a value for money proposition. "The company hopes to sell approximately 12,000 units in the first year itself,'' sources said. The company is right now in the midst of a Rs 300-crore investment programme in the country.
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