The Japanese car maker today sells about 52,000 units a year in India, made up mostly by the Innova which contributes about 41,000 units, the Corolla Altis which adds in another 10,000 units and the rest made up of the Camry. By the next year the Frotuner would have added another 8- to 10,000 units per year but that yet falls short of TKMLs ambitions to be a volume player. The new small car will be the high volume product with which ambitions to be a volume player. The new small car will be the high volume product with which TKMLs annual volumes would go to about 150,000 units per year from 2011.
The new compact car, will be made in India first and then delivered from here elsewhere to other markets. Another variant of the same with a different spec engine would also be made at Toyotas Brazilian plant. The Indian version would have the best in class cabin space and occupant comfort stated Yoshinori Noritake, chief project engineer for the EFC800L and it would be built to the same exacting quality standards Toyota automobiles are renowned for. To begin with thee would be a 1.2-litre gasoline engine powering the car but an all new 1.4-litre diesel is presently under development and this would also find its way under the bonnet of this hatchback.
There would also be a sedan version of the EFC800L following within six months to a year of the launch of the compact and the heartening bit of news is that TKML hopes to localise the new product to the tune of almost 70% at the time of launch. "We have a strict cost target to meet and without devaluing our quality we needed the time to perfect this product," said Noritake.
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