Toyota India has revealed the pricing segment for the compact car it plans to launch next year. Toyota India also plans to jack up its production to 5,000 units a month by July, and double sales and servicing manpower by 2010.
“The compact car will be priced in the B+ category,” Sandeep Singh, deputy MD said. The company is looking at expanding dealer network from the current 82 to 150 by 2010-end. “With the compact car, we want to be in semi-rural and rural towns,” he added.
The pricing of of cars in the B+ segment is between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 7 lakh. This means that the compact car will be priced between a Santro top-end variant and a Honda City entry variant. The model will be launched in both sedan and hatchback versions. Around 70,000 units of the so-called compact vehicle will be produced at its Rs 3,200-crore factory at Bidadi in Bangalore.
The compact car will have a localisation of 65% to start with, and will gradually be taken to 90% by 2011. Higher localisation for the small car has made the company actively consider a new powertrain facility by the end of 2010. Still in the planning stages, the facility will be dedicated to producing engines and gearboxes for the compact car.