10 to 12 Lakhs range SUV from Toyota for India.

By -
According to the latest Tweet from Autocarindia's editor Hormazd Sorabjee, Toyota is eying to develop an 10 to 12 lakhs range SUV for India and other developing Asian economies. The SUV which is under development is said to be based on the modified Etios platform. However, the plans to develop the new SUV based on Etios platform is quite surprising as the Etios series has not clicked well in India. The ideas of an 10 lakh SUV has come up as Mahindra has reaped rich benefits with its newly launched XUV-500. Tata's Aria and Safari are also under the same price range. So, Toyota's new product will be developed in such a way that it will be competing with Mahindra XUV 500, Mahindra Scorpio, Tata Aria,Tata Safari Merlin and Force One SUV.

The Indian SUV market is steadily growing as people have started opting for SUVs as a replacement for premium sedans.Maruti, which was playing safe with entry level cars and premium hatchbacks in India, is Ready to unveil its new SUV at the 2012 Indian Auto Expo.

Toyota's price reduction strategy for its Etios sedan and Etios Liva hatchback has not worked out wonders for the Japanese car manufacturer. The outdated designs, poor styling and less features have made people to migrate towardsFord Fiesta Classic, Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Indigo Manza.Toyota will have to come up with good looking, well engineered SUV for Indian markets as the company is famous for its perfect engineering and decent design works, falling well withing the boundaries of Indian buyers. 

If the firm aims for fair pricing at the cost of performance and other features, it would be another devastating blow for the Japanese auto major. So, instead of an 7-seater, a 5 seater SUV would be the best option to get the cost reduced and performance level up.

It is high time for other auto majors in India to plan for their 10 to 12 lakh range SUV in India. Following Maruti, Renault will be bringing in the Duster SUV adding one more to the Renault's SUV list in India to two. Honda is coming up with its newly designed CR-V at the 2012 Indian Auto Expo.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All new Ambassador makeover by Hindustan Motors in 2012 .

By -
Image
Sixty years back, the word ‘car’ in India literally meant the Ambassador for most Indians. A lot has changed since then, with horde of automobile manufacturers active in the Indian market, sales figures for Hindustan Motors have hit an all time low 5,510 units in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. Over the years, it has been the Indian political class that has been keeping Hindustan Motors rolling. The latest blow to Hindustan motors came from the Govt. of India itself, which replaced the Ambassador with cars like the  Maruti SX4  and the  Tata Indigo CS considering safety and performance issues. The next-gen Ambassador will feature structural, aerodynamic and aesthetical chages. Changes on board the 2012 Ambassador include new engine calibrations, an anti-lock brake system and aluminium alloy wheels. For comfort, there will be new leather seats coupled with wood grain interiors. For the first time, there will also be an integrated music system and redesigne...
Read more

Force One to get 4x4 in mid-2012

By -
Image
Force Motors, which launched its first SUV, Force One, last August will launch a new 4x4 version and a variant equipped with ABS by mid-2012. The new 4X4 was displayed at the Auto Expo last month. At the launch, the company had indicated its intentions to offer more features in the SUV at a later stage. These features have made it to the SUV, but the company has been tight-lipped about launch date  and price tag. The 4x4 variant will continue to be powered by the FM-Tech 2.2-litre common-rail turbo-diesel motor that develops 139bhp and 32.6kgm of torque. It will be offered with a five-speed manual gearbox as is the case with the 4x2 version. There will be no visual changes to  differentiate the 4x4 from its 4x2 sibling, except for  the badge. We expect the ABS-equipped 4x4 version to  cost at least Rs 1 lakh more than the 4x2 variant, which costs Rs 10.65 lakh (ex-showroom,  Delhi). 
Read more

Maruti 800 replacement coming soon.

By -
Image
Authentic Cars  broke the news on the upcoming Maruti 800 way back in July last year   and now we bring you more info on the car that will finally replace the venerable Maruti 800.  This new car, to be called the Alto 800 (codename: YE3), is based on the Alto, but with significant modifications done to make it cheaper. Not to be confused with the Alto sold in Japan, the new Alto 800 is based on the current generation Alto (YG4) but with a new body and interior. As seen in the pictures, the design is rather basic but there is more than a passing resemblance to the Japanese Alto, especially from the front. The nose gets high-mounted headlights, a slim, slot-like grille and there is a huge secondary air-inlet opening above and below the bumper. The styling is in line with the current-generation Suzukis, and details like the slanting window-line point to an aggressive tip-forward stance. Also, there is a prominent character-line that runs on the sides, right from the head...
Read more