MUMBAI: Design, performance and comfort - Toyota Motor Corporation's highest selling luxury sedan "Corolla" laid claim to all of it and more yesterday at the official launch in Mumbai's JW Marriot Hotel.
The global version of the Corolla, which will be available in India, was unveiled by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) director Yoshio Shirai, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) chairman and TMC director A Okabe, TKM vice chairman Vikram Kirloskar and TMC chief engineer - Corolla project - S. Yoshida.
Present on the occasion were the authorised dealers, clients and customers. Adding the right dose of glamour to the launch function was Femina Miss India 2002 Shruti Sharma who spoke about the features and benefits offered by Corolla.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com, TKM vice chairman Vikram Kirloskar said: "Today, we open another chapter in the history of Toyota in India. In 2002, we sold 25,000 units of the Qualis model and 300 of the recently launched Capry. We have also expanded our dealer network to a total of 44 on an all India basis."
Dentsu is the advertising agency which will release the multimedia advertising campaign for Corolla. Starcom, the buying agency for Toyota has charted out an extensive television campaign for Corolla. In the north and west, the TV advertisements will be restricted to special interest English channels and cricket. However, in south India, the ads will be aired on mass entertainment channels such as Sun TV, Gemini TV amongst others, as per the information available with indiantelevision.com.
The latest ninth generation Corolla will also be manufactured at TKM's state-of-the-art plant at Bidadi in Karnataka. TMC has invested around Rs 9 billion in the initial phase and aims to become the biggest automobile manufacturers in the country by increasing the investment in the second and third phases of the project.
TMC director Shirai adds: "The India launch of the Corolla is considered to be an extremely prestigious event at Toyota, Japan.We are hoping that the brand will help to make a statement and boost sales in a very competitive market. Indian customers can now look forward to a world-class sedan from our sophisticated line of luxury automobiles."
The company plans to sell 10,000 units of Corolla in the first year itself.Toyota has sold more than 30 million Corollas in 142 countries worldwide, says the official release.
Adding to the glam appeal were performances by Shiamak Davar's troupe and models displaying the latest collections of fashion designers: Aparna Chandra, Manish Arora, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna. Amongst the audience were personalities from the TV and film world like Seema Biswas, Niki Aneja and Mita Vasisht.
A Mumbai resident Sapna Patel, who purchased the first Corolla in Mumbai, won a fully sponsored trip to South Africa and will watch the India-England and India-Pakistan matches. Pankaj Kowli was another winner of the lucky draw contest held at the fag end of the show.
