NEW DELHI: Toyota Kirloskar will soon start selling spare parts for various models online in India as part of its program to improve customer satisfaction.

The company, which has 10 million customers in India, is launching a pilot program to sell spare parts online in Bengaluru this week and plans to expand to other cities year by year through 2016.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s Vice Chairman said: “We have 10,000,000 customers in India and our main goal is to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Our new initiative of making spare parts available online is aimed at making the service more accessible to our customers.” ” Shekar Viswanathan, a full-time coach, told PTI.

As part of the program, the company is producing 4,000 frequently replaced various spare parts and 30 pieces A range of accessories including fan belts, oil filters and wipers.

He said, “We are providing another platform, especially for tech-savvy people who want to repair small parts through their local garage rather than an authorized service center using genuine Toyota spares.”

He added that the delivery model will be localized, with the company’s dealers taking care of delivery once the customer purchases the part.

Viswanathan said the available parts will be for all TKM models sold in India, including the once-popular Qualiss utility vehicles, although the company is no longer required by law to sell them.

Other models the company sells in India include the Innova, Etios cars and Etios Liva.

He is confident that the move will be successful and said, “What we are doing is giving dealers the opportunity to shorten the distance and remain loyal to these customers, including those who have left.”

Based on the results of the Bengaluru pilot, “we will pilot it in 2016, ” expanding to other cities in the year. After that, we will evaluate the way forward based on the response from other cities,” he said.

This will benefit the company in the long run, he said. “If we really make our customers happy and loyal, then the first million will lead to the next million.”

TKM is a joint venture between Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. and India’s Kirloskar Group, with the Japanese partner holding 89 percent of the shares and the Indian company taking a stake.