India Gets First Toyota Driving School in Kerala

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has opened its first driving school in India in Kochi, Kerala.

Managed by Nippon Toyota, 'Toyota Driving School' (TDS) will be offering comprehensive training programmes to learners. The School was inaugurated by State Fisheries Minister K Babu in the presence of Naomi Ishii, Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Babu Moopan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nippon Motors.

"Today is an important day for Toyota as we are launching our pilot driving school in this beautiful state of Kerala. For us, this is a big opportunity to come closer to you with a solution for one of the biggest challenges our country is facing today - road safety," PTI quoted Naomi as saying. "We believe everyone deserves to be safe and this is what drives us to make great cars which stand for safety and quality."

Toyota, which is looking to expand its visibility in India, will focus on safe riding through its new driving school.

"The curriculum will be a comprehensive training program that will boast of high quality, practical and futuristic training models like the driver simulator mechanism which is expected to deliver the 'Etios Experience'", said the company.

Meanwhile, in what appears to be a fresh move, Toyota is seen testing its Vios sedan in India. Although it is almost sure that Vios will not make it to the Indian market, the test driving of Vios in the country has stirred up fresh rumours about the possible launch of the model.

Toyota Vios, a model that is sold in the international markets measures 4,410mm in length, 1,700mm in width and 1,475mm in height. Seated on a wheelbase of 2,550mm, Vios is powered by 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol mill, which can generate 109PS @6,000rpm and 141Nm of torque @4,200rpm. The transmission is taken care by a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed automatic gearbox.