Chennai, June 1 (IANS) Japanese-Indian car joint venture Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. continued its good show this fiscal by selling 15,501 units last month, up from 7,470 units sold in May 2011, while it plans to increase the prices of its various models owing to the weakening rupee.
According to a company statement issued Friday, Etios and Etios Liva recorded sales of 4,270 units and 2,587 units, respectively, last month.
The company sold New Innova 6,710 units last month while the New Fortuner registered sales of 1,399 units. Toyota Kirloskar sold 523 Corolla Altis during May 2012.
“Last month, Etios, Etios Liva, New Innova and New Fortuner continued to show good results because of high customer confidence. The sales have been good despite the low market sentiments,” said Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director of Toyota Kirloskar.
He said that owing to the weakening rupee, the company will increase the prices of Etios diesel and Innova by one percent and of Fortuner and Etios Liva diesel models by half percent effective Friday.
City-based Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. also reported 98 percent increase in its car sales last month as compared to the numbers logged in May 2011.
The company sold 3,138 units last month, up from 1,588 units sold in May 2011.
“Despite the fact that the auto industry in India has been going through some uncertainty in view of the recent fuel price hike and general economic growth, our sales have remained strong,” Nissan Motor India managing director Ishida Takayuki said.
According to Takayuki, the company would launch a new model Evalia later this year.
Nissan Motor would also launch Datsun brand car in India in 2014 and is expected to play a crucial role in the Japanese parent Nissan Motor Company’s India strategy.
According to Nissan Motor India, cars bearing the Datsun badge will be modern, generous and designed to suit local customer tastes and will be built locally, incorporating latest technology features.
