Toyota Posts a Loss in India

Toyota Motor Corp. says it generated an unspecified net loss in India for the fiscal year ended March 31, as sales for the period plunged 22%.

Shekar Viswanathan, vice chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt tells The Wall Street Journal that results were hurt by poor demand and a weak rupee. He also says profits are being eroded by the low-price Etios line of small cars Toyota introduced in India at the end of 2010.

Viswanathan concedes that growth prospects for India's auto industry have "dimmed rather considerably."

Toyota's sales in India plunged to 128,800 units in the last fiscal year from 165,100 vehicles in the prior 12-month period. The shrinkage was more than three times the 6% decline for the market overall.