Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold 5555 units in August 2020

Company had sold a total of 10,701 units in the domestic market in August 2019 and had exported 843 units of the Etios as well, a company statement said.

Commenting on the month’s performance, Sr Vice President, Sales & Service TKM Naveen Soni said, 'We began August with a lot of apprehensions due to the skewed rise in Covid positive cases in Karnataka state and throughout the country. It had a resultant impact on both the demand & supply scenarios. Fortunately, August witnessed an increase in demand for most of our models akin to pre-Covid times, including customer enquiries and orders.

'However, supplying vehicles from our end (to dealers) posed as a challenge due to the rising number of Covid cases in Bangalore and its surrounding areas, where most of our work forces reside.

'This even lead us to ramp down production to a single shift so as to be able to ensure that we are taking all measures to safeguard the health and safety of our employees first, and of the community at large. Thankfully, more than half the Covid infected workers at TKM have recovered completely and are reporting back at work, after having completed all necessary protocols as laid down by the state health authorities.

'This has helped us immensely in inching up supplies so as to be able to cater to the increasing demands of our customers.

'August had also witnessed a steady rise in retails (sales from dealer to customers) and thanks to 'Toyota pull system' of operations, we are happy that we could squeeze the system inventory to sell much higher to customers despite the production constraints. Thereby helping us clock 25 per cent higher retails when compared to the wholesales (sale from TKM to dealers) this month and also resulting in better inventory management at dealerships.

'We also announced the opening of bookings for the much awaited Urban Cruiser in August. The upcoming launch model has generated a lot of interest, from our customers and the market alike. We are grateful towards our loyal customers who have pre-booked the Urban Cruiser as this reiterates their trust and faith on brand Toyota. We are humbled to receive such loyalty from our customers and would like to thank them by offering them some early movers benefit,' he concluded.