Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has reported 6.86 per cent decline in total sales at 13,081 units in August. The company had sold 14,045 units in the same month last year.

According to a company statement, domestic sales declined 6.12 per cent to 12,017 units in August from 12,801 units in the same month last year. TKM exported 1,064 units of the Etios series in August 2017 compared with 1,244 units in the same month last year, a decline of 14.47 per cent.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Director and Senior Vice-President — Sales and Marketing, N Raja, said: “Our sales numbers this month are not truly reflective of the existing customer orders. Post the announcement on potential cess hike, there was a considerable rise in customer enquiries and orders.”

He said the company faced production limitations which held it back from catching up with high demand and holidays in August also led to lesser number of production days.

“With the demand on the rise, the current waiting period for Innova has gone up to around 6-8 weeks and Fortuner is around 10-12 weeks respectively,” Raja added.

Demand for hybrid product Camry Hybrid has fallen significantly owing to the price hike after GST implementation, he said, adding that the company was hoping that the government would reinstate “the preferential (lower) tax rate in favour of clean and green technologies such as strong hybrids similar to pre-GST era”.