Senior company officials said that the model apart from being more capable of handling tougher driving and road conditions it would not have features like aluminium step or metallic paint which are a necessity for the urban market. The savings on these front would be passed on to the customers, they said. In the rural market the company expects the maximum volumes from the taxi segment.

The exact timing of the launch will depend entirely on the establishment of dealership infrastructure in the rural areas, they said. The company currently has 23 dealers and most of them are in urban areas. Plans are afoot to increase it to 35 by 2004. It, like most other auto majors, will also follow a hub and spoke scheme of arrangement whereby main dealers would be asked to open up branches in rural areas.

Presently, all the models of Qualis are aimed at the urban market and has been positioned as an alternative to Tata Sumo. Priced between Rs 4.80 lakh and Rs 7.80 lakh in Chennai, the company hopes to sell 20,000 units in the calendar year 2000. Ability to accommodate a large family, high performance air-conditioner, flexible seat configuration, quiter engine and adequate safety features are some of the attributes with which Toyota Kirloskar hopes to attract customers.

Sachio Yamazaki, managing director, Toyota Kirloskar said that ramping up of production would begin soon and second shift will commence in May this year. The Bangalore plant has a capacity to produce 50,000 units per annum. He also said that the company was working hard on improving the indigenisation level from the current levels of 60 per cent to 70 per cent. This, he said, would be achieved once the gear box is sourced made locally for which the company is setting up a joint venture.

Firm bags 2000 orders
Toyota Qualis has bagged orders to the tune of 2000 units in the first few days of the launch. According to DGM-marketing Sandeep Singh, most of the orders were for the top-end model which is priced at around Rs 7 lakh. The company also said that the price announced was invitational price and would be increased in the next few months. ``Pricing was to enable people to experience Toyota product and brand. It will be increased once the product is accepted by the market'' Sachio Yamazaki added.