Toyota Kirloskar Motor has announced wholesales of 14,959 units in August 2022, which marks 17% YoY growth (August 2021: 12,722 units). The company’s cumulative wholesales in the first five months of FY2023 are 76,073 units, which is a YoY increase of 68% (April-August 2021: 44,998 units).

Commenting on the month’s performance, Atul Sood, Associate Vice-President, Sales and Strategic Marketing, TKM said, “Last month, our segment-leading models like the Innova Crysta, Fortuner and the Legender witnessed unprecedented customer orders. The new Glanza and the Urban Cruiser continue to garner customer interest as well as orders. The Vellfire MPV has performed exceptionally well, registering a growth of close to 120%. Similarly, the Camry Hybrid has garnered very encouraging customer orders.”

Sood added that the initial response for the soon-to-be-launched self-charging hybrid Urban Cruiser Hyryder electric SUV “has been phenomenal”. Meanwhile, the company is working on launch plans for the upcoming Limited Edition Crysta Gasoline.

Upswing in UV share but halt on diesel Innova bookings could impact numbers
In the ongoing fiscal, Toyota Kirloskar Motor has put up a strong show, particularly with its SUVs. With 51,040 UVs sold in the April July 2022 period, it has recorded 112% YoY growth and increased its UV market share to 8.07% from 5.66% a year ago. The popular Innova Crysta MPV with 22,783 units remains its best-seller and accounted for 44% of sales, followed by the Urban Cruiser with 18,677 units and 37%. The butch Fortuner and luxurious Vellfire MPV contributed the balance 9,580 units to FY2023’s first four-month total.

On August 30, TKM issued an official release saying it is to “temporarily stop taking orders for the diesel variant” of the Innova Crysta MPV. The statement did not clarify as to when the diesel variant, which is the best-seller for TKM, will be back on sale. According to dealers, bookings for the Innova Crysta diesel have been halted due to the semiconductor shortage. It is understood that the company will fulfill all bookings it received until early August 2022 for the diesel variant as per the stipulated time, but future bookings are likely to be delayed by a few months. Considering the diesel-engined Innova Crysta is one of TKM’s high sellers, TKM’s growth trajectory this fiscal could be impacted.