Toyota bids farewell to Etios, Corolla Altis in India

(Eds: rpting after adding words in 4th para) Bengaluru,, Apr 1 (PTI): Having successfully liquidated all its BS4 stocks even at the dealership level, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) sold a total of 7023 units of BS6 vehicles to its dealers (wholesales) in March 2020. To lessen the burden on its dealers, TKM said it withheld sales by 50 per cent for the month of March 2020, just ahead of the 21 days national lockdown declared by the Government of India in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak.

The company also exported its last batch of 999 units of the Etios series last month thus clocking a total of 8022 units, Bengaluru-headquartered TKM said in a statement. TKM had sold a total of 12,818 units in the domestic market in March 2019.

The company had exported 844 units of the Etios series in March 2019, thus clocking a total of 13,662 units in the same month last year. Last month also witnessed the last batch of the Etios series, as well as the Corolla Altis being manufactured at TKMs plant in Bidadi,bringing an end to the iconic journeys both the models have enjoyed in India, the company said.

"This transition is a part of Toyotas global product strategy to continue to service the ever-evolving needs of the customer through enhanced technologies and product offerings. However, the company will continue to cater to all Etios series & Corolla Altis customers needs through Toyota service outlets across the country along with the promise of availability of Toyota genuine spare parts for the discontinued models," the statement said.

Commenting on the monthly sales, Naveen Soni, Senior Vice President, Sales and Service, TKM, said, even though the company has been long successful in liquidating all BS4 stock and transitioning into a 100 per cent BS6 manufacturing facility, last month has been very challenging for it, both in terms of sales as well as production. "With the spread of COVID-19 threat in various parts of the country followed by the 21 days national lockdown, the companys priority was to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all its stakeholders and most importantly our dealers and their staff who are in the frontline.

To bring this to immediate effect, our dealerships across the country were shut down beginning March 23rd along with a temporary halt of production at our plant in Bidadi, he said. We would like to reassure our dealer partners that they are the most important asset for us and we have been thinking about their sustainability.

This pandemic has financially impacted all our dealerships across India, Soni said. While the Government has announced several relief measures including moratoriums, TKM also studied the fixed cost expenses of dealerships and has come up with a relief package called the COVID package to assist in maintaining liquidity to improve cash flow.

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