Toyota to take its own time to achieve its Indian goals

Toyota Motor Corporation, the number one car maker by volume in the world but a marginal player in India, will neither experiment like the Tatas nor will it play the pricing game like rivals Suzuki and Hyundai to gain a significant market share there.

The company, which has set a target of 4 per cent of global sales coming from India by 2015, says it will do it the 'Toyota way' to achieve its goals in the world's second fastest growing car market.

"We are going to take Toyota's traditional approach, which means targeting all segments of the market and becoming a major manufacturer. We will do that step by step. It will take some time," Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Executive Vice-President Yukitoshi Funo said.

By 2011, TMC will enter the high-volume compact car segment in the Indian market, which the company admits is late. This doesn't worry the firm though.

"It is true that we are actually lagging behind in the Indian market, but not further. We are always late in entering markets, it is not only with India. But once we enter, we are always front runners," TMC Vice-Chairman Kazuo Okamoto said.

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