Toyota may be the world’s number one carmaker but it is still working on making its presence felt in India and other emerging markets.
The Times of India has been told that feasibility studies have begun in India for a Toyota subcompact SUV or multi utility vehicle (MUV) and a mid-size sedan to bridge the gap between the Etios sedan and the Corolla Altis.
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The sedan will fill an important gap in the company’s portfolio and in a segment dominated by the Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Volkswagen Vento.
The feasibility studies come on the heels of an announcement in Japan that Toyota will have eight subcompact cars for emerging countries – including the Etios – by 2015. It aims to sell half of its vehicles in emerging markets by then, up from around 45% a year ago and 18.6% in 2000.
By 2013, production capacity in emerging markets will rise to 3.1m vehicles a year, from 2.38m in 2010.
Toyota confirmed that it will introduce new models but did not divulge specific information.
There has been speculation in the past that Toyota Kirloskar will bring its Avanza mini multi purpose vehicle (MPV) to India (a Daihatsu made on an OEM basis in Indonesia and Malaysia) and launch an MPV on the Etios platform.
Industry observers told The Times the next-generation Toyota Rush SUV (Toyota’s version of the Daihatsu Terios/Bego) could make its way to India and could prove to be a strong competitor for Renault’s recently-launched Duster, Ford India’s soon-to-be-launched EcoSport and the next-generation Scorpio from Mahindra & Mahindra.
