Toyota Kirloskar sales down 19 pc at 9,241 units in November

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Monday reported 18.86 per cent decline in total sales for November 2019 at 9,241 units.

The company had sold 11,390 units in the same month last year, TKM said in a statement.

Domestic sales stood at 8,312 units as against 10,721 units in the year-ago month, a decline of 22 per cent, it added.

The company has been doing pipeline correction to liquidate stocks by December and work towards a smooth transition to BS VI, TKM said.

Exports, however, were up 38.86 per cent at 929 units in November as compared to 669 units in the same month a year ago.

"We have consciously lowered the volume of vehicles sold to dealers to ensure lean inventory/avoid high market offers, we are adjusting our production to ensure we do not put any excess burden on our dealerships before the shift to BS-VI in April 2020," TKM Deputy Managing Director N Raja said.

He further said positive sentiments in the market have continued to November 2019 which has reflected in the spike in customer orders across all models.

The boost in customer orders for all models has sustained last month even after the end of festive season. Customers are aware of the model year price rise in January and the significant price hike of diesel vehicles by 15-20 per cent post BS-VI transition, he added.

"This pre-buying pull of BS-IV vehicles has helped us in pushing retail sales and also enabling successful runout of products before shift to BS-VI," Raja said, adding TKM is also readjusting its production plan to be able to match supply to the increased customer demand.

On the near-term outlook, Raja said,"We hope this pace in retail sales continues to year end.