Toyota Motor Corp. Monday entered India's small-car market with the Etios Liva, as the company seeks to step up its challenge to Suzuki Motor Corp., Hyundai Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co. in one of the world's largest car markets.
The Liva will help Toyota, the world's largest auto maker by sales, tap into the biggest segment of the car market in India, where sales are projected to grow to 3 million cars a year by 2016. The new small car will supplement the Etios sedan, which was introduced in December, and will mainly compete with industry leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.'s Swift, Ford's Figo, Volkswagen's Polo and Hyundai's i20 hatchback models.
The global debut of the Etios as well as the Liva in India marks the rising importance of Asia's third-largest automobile market for Toyota. Global auto makers such as Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors Co. are sharpening their focus on emerging markets such as India, China and Brazil to boost sales amid stagnant growth in the developed markets of Europe and U.S.
"The growth [in car sales in India] this year has slowed but it's still one of the best in the world," Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director in charge of marketing at Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt., told a news conference. "We are very clear that to spur the market you need more launches."
Toyota Kirloskar is 89% owned by Toyota and the remainder by India's Kirloskar group.
Car sales in India grew 30% to 1.98 million in the financial year ended March 31, the fastest since 1999-2000, but the pace of growth slowed to 10% during April-May 2011.
The base model of the 1.2-liter gasoline-engine Etios Liva will cost 399,000 rupees ($8,848) at dealerships in New Delhi.
The car will be offered in four versions, with the top-end model costing 599,000 rupees, Mr. Singh said.
He said the company is aiming to sell more than 60,000 cars based on the Etios platform this year, increasing it to more than 100,000 cars in 2012.
Toyota Kirloskar sold 74,759 vehicles in 2010, an increase of 38%.
The company has two factories at the same complex near India's technology hub of Bangalore. Besides the Etios and Liva, it also makes the Innova multi-purpose vehicle, the Corolla Altis sedan and the Fortuner sport-utility vehicle in Bangalore. Toyota also imports and sells the Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser Prado SUVs, the Camry sedan and the Prius hybrid vehicle in India.
To meet strong demand for its vehicles and reduce waiting time for customers, the company plans to expand annual production capacity at its two plants from 150,000 to 210,000 vehicles in the first half of 2012 with an investment of about 4.9 billion yen ($60.7 million).
The Liva will help Toyota, the world's largest auto maker by sales, tap into the biggest segment of the car market in India, where sales are projected to grow to 3 million cars a year by 2016. The new small car will supplement the Etios sedan, which was introduced in December, and will mainly compete with industry leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.'s Swift, Ford's Figo, Volkswagen's Polo and Hyundai's i20 hatchback models.
The global debut of the Etios as well as the Liva in India marks the rising importance of Asia's third-largest automobile market for Toyota. Global auto makers such as Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors Co. are sharpening their focus on emerging markets such as India, China and Brazil to boost sales amid stagnant growth in the developed markets of Europe and U.S.
"The growth [in car sales in India] this year has slowed but it's still one of the best in the world," Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director in charge of marketing at Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt., told a news conference. "We are very clear that to spur the market you need more launches."
Toyota Kirloskar is 89% owned by Toyota and the remainder by India's Kirloskar group.
Car sales in India grew 30% to 1.98 million in the financial year ended March 31, the fastest since 1999-2000, but the pace of growth slowed to 10% during April-May 2011.
The car will be offered in four versions, with the top-end model costing 599,000 rupees, Mr. Singh said.
He said the company is aiming to sell more than 60,000 cars based on the Etios platform this year, increasing it to more than 100,000 cars in 2012.
Toyota Kirloskar sold 74,759 vehicles in 2010, an increase of 38%.
The company has two factories at the same complex near India's technology hub of Bangalore. Besides the Etios and Liva, it also makes the Innova multi-purpose vehicle, the Corolla Altis sedan and the Fortuner sport-utility vehicle in Bangalore. Toyota also imports and sells the Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser Prado SUVs, the Camry sedan and the Prius hybrid vehicle in India.
To meet strong demand for its vehicles and reduce waiting time for customers, the company plans to expand annual production capacity at its two plants from 150,000 to 210,000 vehicles in the first half of 2012 with an investment of about 4.9 billion yen ($60.7 million).
