Toyota to start bookings for MUV by Nov end

NEW DELHI, SEPT 29: Toyota Motors Corporation, through its joint venture, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited, will open bookings for ...

NEW DELHI, SEPT 29: Toyota Motors Corporation, through its joint venture, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited, will open bookings for its multi-utility vehicle (MUV) by November-end, a company official said. The vehicle will be on roads by January 2000.

The MUV will be the first vehicle to be launched by Toyota Kirloskar Motor. The joint venture was set up in 1997 between Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan and the Kirloskar group. Toyota Kirloskar Motor has its own production facility near Bangalore in Karnataka. Toyota Motor Corporation has already invested Rs 1,500 crore in the Indian automobile market. In the first phase, the multi-utility vehicle would be launched in a diesel version alone, a company source said. At a later stage, Toyota Kirloskar Motor will make the MUV available in petrol version as well.

According to the source, pilot production of the MUV has already begun. The MUV, according to sources, resembles Toyota Kijang, but is not quite the same. It has been specially designed andengineered for the Indian conditions and lifestyles. The vehicle is spacious and can carry eight to 10 passengers.

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Toyota is positioning the MUV against both the Tata Sumo and the Safari, the official said. Toyota has already set up a base of 24 dealers across the country. In any case, due to the popularity of Toyota cars in India, the multinational already had a few dealers of its cars and a service network in the country. Toyota has kept the MUV project a highly guarded secret.

According to Toyota officials, the car has not even been unveiled to its dealers. “They will get to see the vehicle only in the last week of October,” the official said. The price will not be revealed until November-end, when the company formally launches the car.

According to the company official, Toyota Kirloskar Motor is yet to set up a comprehensive vendor base. At the time of launch, the MUV will have a high import content. The company will slowly hike the indigenous content.

Toyota Motor Corporation is the thirdlargest manufacturer of cars and light commercial vehicles in the world. In Japan, the company has been the market leader for several years and at present, Toyota has a market share of around 40 per cent in Japan.