Tuesday, February 1 2005 20:02 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) announced the withdrawal of its best selling model, the Qualis, from the Indian market today (Feb 1, 2005) and said it would give way for a more modern and customer value driven new vehicle.

A company spokesman said booking of Qualis was stopped on December 31, 2004 and production also the same month.

Making the announcement, TKM said in a statement in Bangalore that Qualis had been withdrawn to give way to the new vehicle that would enable the company to achieve volume and market share objectives in India.

"The Qualis has been our mainstay in India for the past five years. It has provided the perfect platform for Toyota in this country, but we feel it is time to bring in newer products that will provide better value to the customer," TKM managing director A Toyoshima, said.

The new model, the statement said, would be able to satisfy the requirements of MPV and passenger car markets, providing MPV performance alongwith comforts of a passenger car.

Launched in 2000, Qualis had registered sales of 36,700 units between January and December 2004 and the last month of production saw the highest ever retail sales of the vehicle, crossing 4,000 units in one month for the first time, it said.

Between 2000 and 2004, Qualis was the primary driver of growth in the MPV segment, increasing the market share of the segment in the Indian automobile industry from less than 9 per cent in 2000 to over 11 per cent in 2003. TKM is the joint venture between Toyota Motor Corporation and Kirloskar Group.

The Rs 900 crore plant is located at Bidadi, near Bangalore.