10 to 12 Lakhs range SUV from Toyota for India.

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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 The outdated designs, poor styling and less features have made people to migrate towardsFord Fiesta Classic, Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Indigo Manza.Toyota will have to come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.

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