The first increase in production capacity by Toyota in India in more than ten years will be the construction of a new auto manufacturing facility. As per Reuters, this decision is being driven by a relationship with Suzuki that has greatly improved local production volumes.
As per one of the Reuters sources, the largest automaker in the world intends to start the facility with a preliminary manufacturing capacity of 80,000 to 120,000 vehicles yearly, with the possibility of expansion to about 2 lakh vehicles over time. Toyota's present manufacturing capacity in India, which is now set at 400,000 vehicles, would increase by up to 30% as a result of the first capacity expansion that has been proposed.
In addition to this increase in production, Toyota is in the early phases of creating a brand-new sport utility vehicle (SUV) particularly for the Indian market, which is scheduled to go on sale in the first quarter of 2026. According to one of the sources and a third party informed of the company's plans, this SUV is predicted to act as an essential product for the new facility.
Toyota and Suzuki have a global collaboration through which both Japanese manufacturers adopt and modify certain automobiles that were originally created by their partner. This partnership is the cause of Toyota's impressive sales rise in India. These automobiles are subsequently marketed under the corresponding labels, broadening their selection of products. Notably, almost 40% of Toyota's Indian sales currently consist of vehicles that were formerly offered by Maruti Suzuki, like the Glanza hatchback and Urban Cruiser Hyryder SUV.
As part of their cooperative arrangement, Maruti Suzuki uses a sizeable percentage of Toyota's present production capacity to produce cars for both businesses.
Despite being well-known in India for products like the Fortuner SUV and the Camry hybrid, Toyota has stated that it expects to set a record for domestic sales in 2023. According to two of the insiders, the manufacturer has ambitious plans to raise its yearly manufacturing capacity to 500,000 vehicles by the end of the following decade, including the models it will provide to Suzuki.
This development in India comes at a time when Toyota is facing stronger competition from Chinese players in Southeast Asia, as well as slow growth in areas like Europe and North America. In the town of Bidadi, which is located in the state of Karnataka in southern India, the company now runs two vehicle facilities; the third facility will soon be built there. These two plants' combined annual manufacturing capacity increased by 30% to nearly 400,000 automobiles in May when a third shift was added.
