Toyota Launches Its First Driving School In East India

The car firm plans to open six more in 2017 and surpass a total of 50 by 2020

Toyota Kirloskar Motor has opened its first driving school in eastern India, which is also the fifth in the country. Located in Kolkata, the driving school is managed by Toyota’s Topsel dealership and reaffirms the car firm’s commitment towards its safety mission of ‘Safest Car with Safest Driver’.

Toyota claims that the driving school in Kolkata will be one of its kind in the country. The main focus will be on nurturing every student into a responsible and safe driver and to achieve that, the curriculum will boast a mixture of practical and futuristic training models. For a comprehensive coverage of all the aspects of safe driving, the training programme will cover everything from traffic rules, correct driving concepts and responsibilities of a driver, to driving on different road and climate conditions, basic maintenance of the car and emergency handling.

To apply and test the theoretical knowledge, students can practice in a simulator which, Toyota says, will deliver hands-on experience to learners who can practice virtually all car controls. Additionally, the simulator will be capable of reconstructing various road and weather conditions like fog, dim light, uphill and downhill terrain. The simulators will also be used for systematic evaluations and in-depth feedback, post the completion of training.

By 2020 Toyota aims to establish 50 such driving schools across the country. The car firm will be launching six more driving schools in 2017 and train around 5,000 students.

Apart from Toyota, other car manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India have also inked partnerships with institutions as initiatives towards their respective corporate social responsibility (CSR). Maruti Suzuki recently joined hands with cab-service major Ola to train a pool of skilled drivers, tied up with Gujarat government to train 10,000 tribal youths for driving and invested towards the establishment of Japan-India Institute of Manufacturing. Similarly, Hyundai Motor India recently collaborated with Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Kolkata and Chandigarh Polytechnic College to enhance education standards with the use of latest technologies.