Toyota to more than double sales in India by 2013

Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Wednesday it expected sales in India to almost double next year as it launches a new model in one of the fastest growing auto markets in the world.

The firm, which expects to sell 73,000 vehicles in India this year, will launch its Etios hatchback in India in April 2011, said Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director of Toyota Kirloskar, a joint venture between Toyota and India's Kirloskar group.

The launch of the hatchback will mark Toyota's entry into the Indian mass market.

A number of global automakers in India such as Toyota (7203.T), Honda (7267.T), Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), Ford (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N) are lining up new models and boosting investment in the country, responding to brisk demand from a burgeoning middle class in Asia's third-largest economy.

French carmaker Renault's (RENA.PA) Indian unit will launch five cars between mid-2011 and mid-2013, its India head said in August.

Toyota Kirloskar said it would invest 5 billion rupees ($110 million) by 2013 in India to increase local production of its Etios sedan, which it launched on Wednesday.

By 2013, the company plans to manufacture 90 percent of each Etios vehicle in India, Hiroshi Nakagawa, managing director of Toyota Kirloskar Motor said through a translator. As of now 70 percent of each Etios sedan is made in India.

The Japanese carmaker aims to sell 70,000 units of its Etios sedan and hatchback in 2011 as it enters the highly competitive passenger car industry in Asia's third-largest economy.

The sedan will be available in five variants, with a base price of about $10,901 he said.

"The price point is definitely good, so the prospects are looking good," said Umesh Karne, a research analyst for Brics Securities in Mumbai.

But he added that it was unlikely to make a big dent in the market share of local players such as Maruti Suzuki (MRTI.BO) and Tata Motors (TAMO.BO) as the overall market was growing at a fast pace.

According to the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers, the passenger vehicle category grew 33.72 percent between April and October.

"India is a key market for our overall strategic growth plan and the launch of the Etios is definitely a milestone not only for Toyota in India, but for Toyota globally," Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, said in a statement.

Toyota Motor currently has two premium models in India - the premium utility vehicle Innova and the luxury sedan Corolla Altis. The Etios will be its lowest priced product in the Indian market.

The Japanese carmaker is also likely to launch a diesel version of the Etios.