Toyota to export Etios to South Africa

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd (TKM), said that it will start exporting “Etios” series sedan and hatchback to South Africa in March 2012.

“We are looking at exporting 20,000 units of the Etios series annually,” TKM MD Hiroshi Nakagawa said. The models for export will be based on the Etios platform currently sold in India, but will be developed and produced to fit the lifestyles, consumer preferences, climate, road conditions in South Africa.

Etios will mark Toyota’s first vehicle exports from India, the Japanese company had said earlier. Nakagawa said localisation of Etios is at 70 per cent and may go up to 90 per cent once the company’s new plant and a transmission facility in Bangalore come up next year.