Toyota Kirloskar Motor sales down over 41 pc in March

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Wednesday reported a 41.2 percent decline in total vehicle sales at 8,022 units in March as against 13,662 units in the same period last year. Domestic sales declined 45 percent to 7,023 units as compared to 12,818 units in March 2019. "Even though the company has been long successful in liquidating all BS-IV stock and transitioning to a 100 percent BS-VI manufacturing facility, last month has been very challenging for us, both in terms of sales as well as production," TKM Senior Vice President Naveen Soni said in a statement. With the spread of COVID-19 threat in various parts of the country followed by the 21 days national lockdown, the company's priority was to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all its stakeholders and most importantly the dealers and their staff who are at the frontline, he added. "To bring this to immediate effect, our dealerships across the country were shut down beginning March 23 along with a temporary halt of production at our plant in Bidadi," Soni said. The company said it has ceased production of the Etios series as well as the Corolla Altis in the country, bringing an end to the journey of both the models in India. "This transition is a part of Toyota's global product strategy to continue to service the ever-evolving needs of the customer through enhanced technologies and product offerings," it added.