Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited (TKM) is an Indian joint venture between
Toyota Motor Corporation
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
(89%) and
Kirloskar Group
Kirloskar Group is an Indian conglomerate, headquartered in Pune. The group exports to over 70 countries over most of Africa, Southeast Asia and Europe. The flagship and holding company, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, established in 1888, is India's l ...
(11%), for the manufacture and sales of Toyota cars in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. The headquarters are located in
Bidadi
Bidadi is a town situated on the Bengaluru – Mysuru expressway and is part of the Ramnagar in the state of Karnataka. The town is located 32 km from Bangalore towards Mysuru and is connected by both rail and bus to Bengaluru City. It ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
, near
Bengaluru
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
.
History
Toyota Motor Corporation
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
entered India in 1997 in a joint venture with the
Kirloskar Group
Kirloskar Group is an Indian conglomerate, headquartered in Pune. The group exports to over 70 countries over most of Africa, Southeast Asia and Europe. The flagship and holding company, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, established in 1888, is India's l ...
. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) holds 89% of the share and the remaining 11% is owned by Kirloskar Group. It is based in
Bidadi
Bidadi is a town situated on the Bengaluru – Mysuru expressway and is part of the Ramnagar in the state of Karnataka. The town is located 32 km from Bangalore towards Mysuru and is connected by both rail and bus to Bengaluru City. It ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
, near
Bengaluru
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
.
The company released its first product in the Indian automotive market with the launch of the Qualis in 2000. Occupying the multi utility vehicle (MUV) segment, sales of the model grew within a short span of 2 years to capture 20 per cent market share from established local manufacturers such as Mahindra and
Tata Motors
Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company, headquartered in Mumbai, India, which is part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses.
Formerly known as Tata Eng ...
. In 2002 and 2003, Toyota introduced the Camry and
Corolla
Corolla may refer to:
*Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit
*Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name
*Corolla (headgear)
A ''corolla'' is an ancient headdress in the form of a small circlet or crown.
In 2005, TKM launched the Innova to replace the Qualis, which is based on a modern IMV platform. Later, new models were introduced including the IMV series
Fortuner
The Toyota Fortuner, also known as the Toyota SW4, is a mid-size SUV manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota since 2004. Built on the Hilux pickup truck platform, it features two/three rows of seats and is available in either rear-wheel ...
SUV in 2009 and Hilux pickup truck in 2022. To support the new products, the sales and service network was developed further from 22 outlets in 2000 to 166 in 2011, and 359 in 2019.
Under the Entry Family Car (EFC) project, TKM started producing the Etios in 2010 as the company's first entry-level model. Production of the vehicle created more than 2,000 jobs at TKM's newly-built second plant and approximately 500 jobs at Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts Private Limited.
In 2017, Toyota introduced its luxury brand
Lexus
is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...
in the country.
Suzuki partnership
Toyota started considering its partnership agreement with Suzuki in the Indian market in 2016. In 2017, both companies agreed to market
electric vehicles
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes ch ...
in the country. In 2018 and 2019, Toyota outlined its initial plan for the partnership with Suzuki, including receiving supply of Baleno,
Vitara Brezza
The Suzuki Brezza (known as Vitara Brezza for the first generation) is a subcompact crossover SUV from Suzuki and manufactured by Maruti Suzuki in India. The Brezza is the first Suzuki-branded car which was fully developed in India. The model was ...
, Ciaz and Ertiga models from Suzuki, and supplying the Corolla to Suzuki. Plans also included production of the Suzuki-developed SUV at TKM from 2022 and the production of
hybrid electric vehicles
A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system (hybrid vehicle drivetrain). The presence of the electric powertrain is intended ...
in India. In 2019, TKM released the Glanza as a rebadged Baleno, and the Urban Cruiser as a rebadged Vitara Brezza in 2020. In 2022, TKM released the
Urban Cruiser Hyryder
The Suzuki Grand Vitara and Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder are subcompact crossover SUVs (B-segment) developed by Suzuki and produced by Toyota in India since 2022. The Urban Cruiser Hyryder was released in July 2022 in India ahead of the Grand ...
, which is developed by Suzuki, produced by TKM while incorporating the
Toyota Hybrid System
Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD), also known as Toyota Hybrid System II, is the brand name of Toyota Motor Corporation for the hybrid car drive train technology used in vehicles with the Toyota and Lexus marques. First introduced on the Prius, the te ...
.
Manufacturing facilities
TKMPL's current plant at
Bidadi
Bidadi is a town situated on the Bengaluru – Mysuru expressway and is part of the Ramnagar in the state of Karnataka. The town is located 32 km from Bangalore towards Mysuru and is connected by both rail and bus to Bengaluru City. It ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
is spread across 850 acres and has a capacity of 110,000 vehicles per annum. TKMPL's second manufacturing plant on the outskirts of
Bengaluru
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
has a capacity of 210,000 vehicles per annum. Total production capacity is 320,000 vehicles per annum. On 16 March 2011, it announced that it was increasing production to 210,000 vehicles per annum due to increase in demand for its models especially the Etios and
Fortuner
The Toyota Fortuner, also known as the Toyota SW4, is a mid-size SUV manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota since 2004. Built on the Hilux pickup truck platform, it features two/three rows of seats and is available in either rear-wheel ...
.
Industrial relations
On 16 March 2014, Toyota Kirloskar Motor temporarily suspended the production at two of its assembly plants in
Bidadi
Bidadi is a town situated on the Bengaluru – Mysuru expressway and is part of the Ramnagar in the state of Karnataka. The town is located 32 km from Bangalore towards Mysuru and is connected by both rail and bus to Bengaluru City. It ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
whose production capacity was 310,000 units annually and has employee strength of 6,400. Cause for the shutdown was failure to reach an agreement with the union over the issue of wages, deliberate stoppages of the production line by certain sections of the employees and abusing & threatening of supervisors thereby disrupting the production for the past 25 days. Toyota Kirloskar Motor announced on 21 March 2014 to lift the lockout at the plants effective from 24 March 2014 with subject to an acceptance of a service condition which requires all the employees signing an undertaking on good conduct. On 22 April 2014, employees called off the strike after 36 days of standoff and resumed full operations.
Etios motor racing
Toyota India started a One make racing series in India with the Etios car called the 'Etios Motor Racing Series'. The series started in 2012, it witnessed an overwhelming response from the Indian youngsters, with 3300 applicants. They held 2 rounds of exhibition races in 2012, one at a purpose built race track in Chennai called the Sriperumbudur race track and other in the form of ROC (Race of champions) in Gurgaon. The 25 selected drivers then competed in the main championship held in the later half of 2013. The cars were prepared by Red Rooster Performance (based in Bangalore), and designed by TRD (Toyota Racing Development). With stock engines producing almost 100 bhp, the cars were a good platform for youngsters to step from karting to touring cars. Also the relatively cheaper budget of just $3216 for the entire series which includes an entire OMP racing kit makes it one of the best one-make series to compete in.
Toyota Qualis
The Toyota Kijang is a series of pickup trucks, multi purpose vehicles and light commercial vehicles sold mainly in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and India by Toyota. It was first introduced in Indonesia in 1977 and had become the most popular car in ...
(2000–2004)
*
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...
Toyota Prius
The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003.
In 2007, ...
(2010–2015, 2017–2020)
*
Toyota Land Cruiser
The (also sometimes spelled as LandCruiser) is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than ...
Toyota Etios Cross
The Toyota Etios is a subcompact car consisting a line of four-door saloon/sedan and five-door hatchback produced by the Japanese automaker Toyota since 2010. The saloon version was launched in December 2010 and the hatchback version (with a ...
(2014–2016)
*
Toyota Yaris
The is a supermini/ subcompact car sold by Toyota since 1999, replacing the Starlet and Tercel.
Up to 2019, Toyota had used the Yaris nameplate on export versions of various Japanese-market models, with some markets receiving the same vehi ...
Toyota Urban Cruiser (2020)
The Suzuki Brezza (known as Vitara Brezza for the first generation) is a subcompact crossover SUV from Suzuki and manufactured by Maruti Suzuki in India. The Brezza is the first Suzuki-branded car which was fully developed in India. The model was ...
(2020–2022)
Sales and service network
As of April 2019, it has more than 350 dealerships in 225 cities across India.
Toyota Motor Corporation
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
*
Automobile industry in India
The automotive industry in India is the fourth-largest in the world as per 2021 statistics. In 2022, India became fourth largest country in the world by valuation of automotive industry. As of 2020, India is the 5th largest automobile market in ...