Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), a subsidiary of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation, hopes to fully utilise its annual installed capacity of 3 lakh vehicles in two years, according to a senior executive.

“The company is currently manufacturing about 1.5 lakh units a year at its plant in Karnataka. We are working to utilise full capacity within two years as we see demand rising both in India and overseas,” said Shekar Viswanathan, Vice-Chairman and Whole-time Director, TKM.

Toyota Motor has invested ₹7,228 crore in the Indian plant so far along with its local partner, Kirloskar Group.

During his recent visit to Hyderabad, the Toyota executive told BusinessLine the country’s auto sector is still passing through a tough business cycle.

There are indications that this would get better in the second half this year and accelerate over the next few years, Viswanathan added.

The auto industry is set to play a big role in the expansion of India’s manufacturing sector, whose contribution to the GDP is poised to grow from 16 per cent now to 25 per cent over the next few years, he said.

The country’s automotive sector, which now has an annual demand of about 2.7 million units, is projected to grow to about 6.5 million by 2020.

Skills in demand

Finding people with right skills is likely to be one big challenge for companies taking the expansion route, Viswanathan said.

The requirement for skilled professionals is set to increase significantly over the next few years.

Toyota in India is engaged with 36 industrial training institutes helping in skill upgrade in areas related to the automotive sector.

These people are then picked up by dealer networks within the country and even land up getting jobs in West Asia, he said.

According to the industry data, the country’s automotive industry employs about 29 million people and this is expected to go up to 34 million by 2016 and possibly 100 million both direct and indirect by 2026.

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