New Delhi ,May 30 : Japanese auto major Toyota today announced the launch of its financial services in the Indian market with plans to invest Rs 260 crore initially.
Toyota Financial Services India (TFSI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Financial Services Corporation, will start operations in Delhi and NCR and will be gradually expanded to other metros within this fiscal.
“We will start the retail business from June 5 through dealerships in Delhi, NCR and Bangalore. The initial investments for starting the financial services in Rs 260 crore,” TFSI Managing Director and CEO Kazuki Ogura told reporters here.
Stating that India will be the 34th country where TFS will have operations, he said the company will look to gradually expand operations here.
“The aim is to reach to other metro cities within this fiscal,” Ogura said, adding if required the company could increase the investments here.
TFSI will focus only on Toyota customers in India and the company will provide interest rates on loans comparable to the market, which is around 12-12.5%, he added.
“Globally, we are not the least when it comes to interest rates. Yet, we have the best penetration rates in markets like US and China through our overall financial package,” Toyota Financial Services Corporation Executive Vice-President Eiji Hirano said.
“India is a market full of opportunities...By 2015 it is estimated that the car market here will touch four million units (a year). It is the right time to enter India at this moment,” he added.
Asked what kind of incremental sales Toyota is expecting after the launch of the financial services, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Managing Director Hiroshi Nakagawa said: “It is too early to say but this will definitely help us enhance the Toyota brand even further.”
Globally, TFS has around 17 million customers with assets in the excess of USD 150 billion. It employs 8,400 people worldwide.
