Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Tuesday announced that the company sold a total of 707 units in the month of May 2021, amidst the prevailing restrictions and sporadic lockdowns in several parts of the country.
Even before the state-wide lockdown was declared in Karnataka, TKM had already announced its annual maintenance shutdown at its plant in Bidadi, starting on the 26th of April until the 14th of May, to enhance its operational efficiencies, the company said in a press release.
This further added to the number of non-production days at its plant in Bidadi.
For reference, TKM had reported wholesales of 1,639 units in May 2020 and 9,622 units in April 2021.
According to the company, TKM in the first five months of 2021 stands at 50,531 units when compared to 24,820 units sold in the corresponding period last year.
Naveen Soni, Sr. Vice President, TKM, said that last month witnessed no production at the company’s plants in Bidadi and minimal sales. Hence comparing last month’s performance to May 2020 would be highly skewed, as May 2020 had witnessed a gradual restart of both operations and sales.
The overall market situation, as well as consumer sentiments, are better than May 2020, the company said.
It further anticipates that factors like ‘pent up demand’ and the demand for personal mobility will continue to be quite significant once the markets open as consumers will want to own their vehicles instead of using shared or public mobility options.