Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday denied all claims that stated Toyota Company will stop investing in India. He said Vikram Kirloskar, Vice-Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor has clarified that Toyota will invest more than Rs 2,000 crore in the next 12 months.
Kirloskar said, "Absolutely! We are investing 2000+ crs in electric components and technology for the domestic customer and export. We are committed to the future of India and will continue to put all effort in society, environment, skilling and technology."
Earlier, it was reported that Japanese company Toyota was not looking at expanding further in India due to the country’s high tax regime stated the company’s executive to Bloomberg.
This revelation comes at a time when India is trying to attract more investors and companies to India as India has witnessed in steady decline in investments and infrastructure-led growth in the country.
The government keeps taxes on cars and motorbikes so high that companies find it hard to build scale, said Shekar Viswanathan, vice-chairman of Toyota’s local unit, Toyota Kirloskar Motor. In India, motor vehicles including cars, two-wheelers, and sports utility vehicles (although not electric vehicles), attract taxes as high as 28 percent. There are additional taxes that can range between 1-22 per cent based on a car’s type, length, or engine size.
The high levies also put owning a car out of reach of many consumers, meaning factories are idled and jobs aren’t created, Viswanathan said. “The message we are getting after we have come here and invested money is that we don’t want you,” Viswanathan said in an interview. In the absence of any reforms, “we won’t exit India, but we won’t scale up.”
