Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that it remains committed to the Indian market and its local unit announced an investment of more than ₹Rs 2 billion, just hours after a report quoted a senior company official as saying the company will halt its expansion plans due to high taxes on cars.
“The future of sustainable mobility is strong here in India and Toyota is proud to be a part of this journey. We are investing more than Rs 2 billion in electrification of vehicles, “said Vikram Kirloskar, vice president of Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Toyota’s local unit, in a post on Twitter.
This followed a Bloomberg report earlier in the day citing Shekar Viswanathan, Toyota Kirloskar vice president, who said the company will not expand further in India due to high taxes, making it difficult for automakers to achieve economies of scale.
“The message we are getting after we have come here and invested money is that we don’t want you,” he said, according to the report. Toyota has two plants in the suburbs of Bengaluru, where it manufactures cars and utility vehicles. models such as Etios, Innova and Fortuner.
Things changed rapidly during the day, with Toyota Kirloskar first expressing its commitment to India and then Kirloskar making the investment plans public.
Stressing that India is an “integral part” of its global strategy, the Japanese auto giant said in the statement that it expects the Indian government to take steps to support the auto industry through tax cuts.
“Toyota Kirloskar Motor would like to affirm that we remain committed to the Indian market and that our operations in the country are an integral part of our global strategy. We need to protect the jobs we have created and we will do everything we can to achieve this. During our two decades of operations in India, we have worked tirelessly to build a strong and competitive local supplier ecosystem and develop strong and capable human resources. Our first step is to ensure the full utilization of the capacity of what we have created, and this will take time, “Toyota Kirloskar Motor said in the statement.
“In the wake of the slowdown that has been exaggerated by the impact of covid-19, the automotive industry has been asking the government for support to sustain the industry through a viable tax structure. We remain confident that the government will do everything possible to support industry and employment, “said Toyota Kirloskar.
Vikram Kirloskar’s tweet about the investment plans was in response to a tweet from Prakash Javadekar, the Union’s Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, who called the Bloomberg report “incorrect” and said Toyota will invest more than ₹Rs 2000 crore in India for the next 12 months.
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