Mumbai : Japanese automobile major Toyota will launch its new small car 'Etios' in December this year and sales will begin in January 2011, a top company official said.

"We are setting up a new facility for our new car, 'Etios', which will be completed soon and the production will start a little ahead of December. We will launch the car in December and the sales will start in January next year," Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Ltd Deputy Managing Director Sandeep Singh said here on the sidelines of a boot camp conducted for owners of its Fortuner SUV on the outskirts of Mumbai.

The company has invested Rs 3,200 crore to set up a new facility for production of the small car, with an initial capacity of 70,000 cars per annum, he said, adding that the company has utilised internal accruals for the investment.

The capacity of the new facility can be extended up to 2, 00,000 cars per annum in two years. The company will produce 65,000-70,000 cars in the first year, he said. The price of the new car will be above Rs 5 lakh. The company is looking for local components suppliers for the new car, he said.

Toyota is looking at exporting the small car from India to various overseas markets, which is likely to start within the next two years, Singh said. The company is, at present, using the full capacity of its existing plant, with an output of 73,000 vehicles per annum.