Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) sold a total of 8,022 vehicles in March 2020, registering a decline of 59% compared to a total of 13,662 vehicles sold in March 2019. The total sales last month include 999 units of Etios exports, a growth of just over 18%. TKM said that it withheld sales by 50% for the month of March 2020 to lessen the burden on its dealers, just ahead of the 21 days national lockdown.
| March sales | 2020 | 2019 | Comparision |
| Domestic | 7,023 | 12,818 | -55% |
| Exports | 999 | 844 | 18% |
| Total | 8,022 | 13,662 | -59% |
Last month also witnessed the last batch of the Etios series as well as the Corolla Altis being manufactured at TKM’s plant in Bidadi, KA, bringing an end to the iconic journeys both the models have enjoyed in India. “This transition is a part of Toyota’s global product strategy,” TKM said. However, the support (service, spare parts) for the Etios series and Corolla Altis customers will continue.
Even though the company has been long successful in liquidating all BS4 stock and transitioning into a 100% BS6 manufacturing facility, last month has been very challenging for us, 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 company’s 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. – Naveen Soni, Senior Vice President, Sales and Service, TKM
Relief for dealerships
“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. While the Government has announced several relief measures including moratoriums, we have also studied the fixed cost expenses of dealerships and have come up with a relief package called the COVID package to assist in maintaining liquidity to improve cash flow. The company is also planning towards ensuring proper sanitization of the dealerships once the national lockdown is over so as to ensure the safety of all our dealer staff as well as the customers who visit the outlets,” Soni added.
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