NEW DELHI: Japanese auto giant Toyota on Monday drove in Etios Liva compact at Rs 3.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi, entry-level model) to mark its presence in the high-volume small car segment in India. In a competitive segment, Liva will have to compete with existing leaders like Swift, Ritz from Maruti Suzuki, i10 (Kappa) of Hyundai and also with new-entrants like Beat from GM, Polo (Volkswagen) and Figo of Ford.
Toyota has been gradually ramping up operations in India as it seeks a larger footprint in the fast-growing emerging markets.
The 1200cc petrol-engine Liva shares the platform with the company's no-frills Etios sedan and will be Toyota's driver model in the crucial small car segment. "Toyota plans to further beef up its presence in the segment, though this would come at a later stage," Hiroji Onishi, president of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific, said.
The Liva comes at a time when Toyota is looking to expand its market share in the passenger vehicle segment to double digits compared to over 3% at present. Onishi admitted that the company was late to enter the compact car segment and competition was intense.
Toyota had earlier planned to launch the Liva in April, but the huge waiting list on the Etios forced it to postpone the plan by two months. Sandeep Singh, Deputy MD at Toyota Kirloskar Motors, said about 20,000 units of the Etios have already been despatched to dealerships and the waiting list had come down substantially, allowing the company to manufacture Liva comfortably. The company hopes to sell about 40,000 units of Etios and 20,000 units of Liva this year. "India is an integral part of our global growth strategy. The Etios project is a milestone not only for Toyota in India but for globally," Onishi said. He said the company's model portfolio in India required further cars. "Definitely, when we look at Toyota's line-up, it is not sufficient in response to the expanding market needs of India." The company could study possibilities with group company Daihatsu for this, though nothing concrete was happening at the moment, he added.
Toyota has plans to launch diesel versions of the Etios and Liva, though Singh refused to give a time-frame for that.
"We are ready with the technology and can launch it within a short period. However, I cannot speak about the timing right now."
The biggest challenge for Toyota, which enjoys a strong brand equity in India, is to fight with small car segment biggies —Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. The two companies not only have a wide distribution and sales network across the country but also have a multi-model strategy that attracts customers at various price points.
Source- Times of India
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