The Japanese auto major, Toyota Motor Corporation which is present in the Indian automotive market under the name of Toyota Kirloskar Motors Pvt Ltd announced today that the company will be commencing its export operations of the newly launched compact hatchback Etios Liva and the compact sedan Etios to the South Africa market. The first batch of 247 units of the Toyota Etios and Etios Liva have already been despatched from the Ennore port near Chennai today to cater to the demands of the South African market.
For the despatch of the first consignment many prominent personalities were present which included Mr. Vikram Kirloskar, Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Mr. Hiroshi Nakagawa, Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Mr. Vicente Socco, Executive Vice President, Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (TMAP), Mr. Takashi Sakai, Executive Vice President, Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) and other important governmental officials and dignitaries from Toyota.
Toyota said on the occasion that the export models of the Etios and the Etios Liva are built on the same platforms as the one sold in india. However, they will be receiving some customizations to suit the local requirements. The export models will be built at Toyota’s new manufacturing plant at Bidadi near Bangalore. The company will export only the petrol variants of the Etios and the Liva. The Bidadi plant also manufactures the Corolla Altis, Etios, Etios Liva (Petrol and Diesel).
