Toyota Innova wins CarDekho Most Popular UV Award; Exclusive Interview Inside

Toyota is no doubt one of the most trusted brands in the world, known for its class-leading products, refined engines and innovative technologies. Our Avid readers too have reckoned the same by chosing Toyota Innova as the Most Popular UV in India. In the UV segment, Toyota grabbed 56 per cent votes in its favour, so to hand over the trophy to Toyota India, we visited their Indian head-quarter in Bengaluru.

Mr. Amit Jain - Founder, CarDekho and Mr. Mohit Yadav, AVP Corporate Sales and Strategy presented the award trophy to Mr. N Raja, Senior Vice President - Sales & Marketing, Mr. Sanjay Gupta, General Manager - Marketing and Mr. Jiveshdeep Singh Sandhu, Manager - Brand Strategy & Marketing Support.

On this occasion, we also got a chance to interview Mr. Sandeep Singh, DMD & COO, Toyota India. We asked him a few questions about the Indian automotive scenario and Toyota India's future plans. Mr. Sandeep Singh has a clear vision to make Toyota, the most respected brand in India. For him the smiles on the Toyota owners' faces is more important than the sales figures, which makes Toyota stand apart from the crowd.

Q.1 Congratulation for the award, Innova got a total of 56 per cent of votes in favour. How do you feel about it?

Ans: We are very happy to receive this award and we would like to thank everyone who has voted for our product. We would also like to thank Car Dekho for bestowing us with this honour.

Q.2 Toyota is a significant name in India when it comes to Utility Vehicles specially in MUVs, first there was Toyota Qualis and now Toyota Innova is doing wonders for the company. Meanwhile, a new segment of compact MUVs has been emerged, both Mahindra Quanto and Maruti Ertiga are doing well in terms of sales, do you also have any plans for this segment?

Just like Innova, Fortuner is also doing well, but Toyota doesn't have any SUV to appeal the masses in India yet. Any plans for a mass segment SUV/compact SUV? There are also reports about Toyota's plans of bringing in Toyota Rush, is it really coming?

Ans: We feel that the compact SUV segment is going to grow in the future considering the changes in the recent consumer behavior and the growing traffic conditions. We are very happy with the products that we are offering to our customers in this segment and we have no plan to enter the compact SUV segment at present.

Q.3 Toyota currently holds the No. 4 position in India with a market share of around 8 per cent. In a market like India, where most of its sales come from small passenger cars, what is Toyota's strategy to increase its market share? Are you planning for more small cars in coming years?

Ans: Although market share is an important part of our operations in India, our main goal is to be the most respected & admired company and to have more and more happy Toyota families in India.  Our aim is also to enhance our reach to our customers by opening satellite dealer outlets in smaller towns. In the last one year we have added close to 50 dealer outlets in smaller centers to increase our penetration.

We have no plans to enter into the smaller car segment in near future.

Q.4 Indian premium car market is now getting momentum and the Indian market now accounts for good percentage in the global sales of the premium car makers including Audi, BMW and Merc. Are you too planning to introduce the brand Lexus in India?

Ans: The Lexus project was delayed due to heavy import duty and at the moment, we are studying and looking at the feasibility of introducing Lexus in India. We cannot set a definite timeline to it but we are committed to bring Lexus to India.

Q.5 Indian automotive industry is facing a tough time at the moment, sales are dipping and SIAM reports suggest that the fiscal 2013-14 won't be any different. What will be your strategy to overcome this?

Ans: Our strategy is to further enhance our reach to more customers by penetrating in smaller towns and opening satellite dealer outlets in smaller centers so that we can provide more and more people the opportunity of experiencing the global QDR standards of a Toyota product.

Q.6 Keeping the current market scenario in mind, where do you see Toyota India after five years down the line?

Ans: India is a very important market for Toyota and our main goal is to be the most respected & admired company and to have more and more happy Toyota families in India.

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