Toyota All Prepared to Enter Mid-size Sedan Market with Etios and Etios Liva

Toyota, the Japanese auto major is planning to enter Indian big car market with mid-size sedan Etios and hatchback Liva. Toyota is working in India as Toyota Kirloskar Motor. As per records, company has said that orders for the made-for-India Etios model have been easily reaching its targets, giving momentum to the fast-emerging Indian auto market, which is dominated by Maruti Suzuki India without facing strong challenges.

Yoshinori Noritake, Etios chief engineer, has been quoted as saying, “We started with India because it’s the most competitive market, with the cheapest cars. We figured that if we could make it here, we could make it in other emerging markets.”

Manager of Toyota’s India product planning group, Toshihiro Takeda, has been quoted as saying that in the first seven months of sales for the Etios sedan, they have received 37,000 orders, compared with a target for that period of 30,000. The Etios Liva has racked up 1,400 bookings in the first four days since its debut on June 27, versus an expected 1,000. The lowest-grade Liva model starts at 390,000 rupees ($8,770), thus making the Etios as the cheapest deal in Toyota’s global line-up. However, it serves as a crucial test for taking on Brazil and other rising markets key to future growth for global automakers.
Toyota has planned to start manufacturing a compact car with Etios’ underpinnings in Brazil from the second half of 2012. According to reports, more than 2,000 engineers from India and Japan have developed the Etios over four years, through the untested technique of drawing up a blueprint based on what materials were available locally to get the most out of every rupee. It was also stated that studying the unique needs of local buyers, engineers have loaded the Etios with seven 1-litre-bottle holders, and a glove compartment, which can keep water bottles cool by letting in air from the air-conditioner duct.

As per reports, the Etios Liva hatchback is priced from Rs 3.9 lakh to Rs 5.90 lakh ($8,770-$13,260), whereas Maruti’s Swift costs Rs 4.09 lakh to Rs 5.56 lakh. “Maruti has many, many devotees,” Takeda said. “One thing we need to make sure of is that the quality of our service keeps up with the volume growth. That could be one way we can differentiate ourselves,’’ he stated according to reports. Takeda agreed that Maruti was a formidable competitor with more than 40 % of the market — a state much like Toyota’s in Japan.