Toyota To Focus On Premium Cars, Hybrid Tech For India

Japanese carmaker Toyota is planning to completely divert its focus from smaller cars to more premium offerings, in order to grab a better stronghold of the Indian automobile market.

“It is time to change our strategy …. The Etios was conceptualised in 2005, and hit the market in 2010. By then, customer preferences had changed,” said managing director of Toyota Kirloskar Motor (the Japanese carmaker’s domestic subsidiary), Akito Tachibana in an interview.

The likes of the Etios and the Liva have not been able to fend off competition from the established Maruti and Hyundai offerings in this segment. The reasons behind this failure range from the relatively sparse dealership network to the brimming feature list on the cars from the country’s top carmakers.

The company has also been unable to update its smaller cars as often in India and has rightly identified its comfort zone now. “Constituting 45% of domestic sales, the A segment is a big market. But that’s not my priority,” said Tachibana. 

However, the carmaker won’t launch many vehicles until the safety and emission regulations are simplified. Rather, it aims to introduce a slew of hybrid variants in its existing portfolio. As a result, the hybrid technology could be introduced from the Etios and the Liva to the Innova and the Fortuner. 

But given Toyota’s apparent inclination towards premium cars in India, the more premium ones are likely to be the first ones to be equipped with the eco-friendly machinery. 

Despite its apprehensions against India’s stand on emission norms and safety regulations, 2016 has rather been an eventful year for the manufacturer in India, having launched the Innova Crysta and the new Fortuner, along with facelifted versions of the Etios and the Liva. 

Toyota even posted double digit growth for the month of November amidst the demonetisation aftermath that has caused a severe cash crunch in the country. Going forward, the carmaker is expected to bring the Prius sedan to India, with the aforementioned hybrid technology.