Indian Car Blog – Carazoo.com

Toyota Sales Up 108 Percent in May

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has reported an impressive rise of 108 percent in aggregate sales in the month of May 2012 where the number of units sold was 15,501 units as compared to the corresponding month last year when the number of units sold were 7,470.

The Etios, which has emerged as the third largest selling sedan in its segment has clocked sales of 4,270 units last month whereas the number of units sold in May 2011 were 3,412 depicting a growth of 25 percent. The number of Etios Liva sold last month was 2,587 units. The company has sold 6,710 units of New Innova last month whereas 2,961 units were sold in the month of May last year which shows a fantastic growth of 127 percent. The number of units of New Fortuner sold last month were 1,399 where as 672 units were sold in May 2011, registering a growth of 108 percent. The number of units of Corolla Altis sold last month was 523.

Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director- Marketing, said, “Production was affected by Tsunami last year, thus affecting sales in May 2011, with 7,470 units being sold. Last month, Etios, Etios Liva, New Innova and New Fortuner continue to show good results because of high customer confidence. The sales have been good, despite the low market sentiments. However, with the rupee weakening, we are unable to retain the current prices. We are forced to pass a part of it to our customers. There will be a 1% increase in the prices of Etios diesel and Innova and a 0.5% increase in Fortuner and Etios Liva Diesel, with effect from 1st June.”

posted by somdatta.basu @ Monday, June 4th, 2012 Comments Off links to this post

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May 30, 2012

Etios Series Touch Sales Of One Lakh Units

The Etios series comprising Etios and Etios Liva sedans have clocked sales of one lakh units. Etios recorded sales of 50,157 units during 2011-2012, emerging as the third largest selling sedan in its segment. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has achieved an important milestone, after it entered the Indian mass volume market.

TKM launched the Etios in December 2010 followed by the Etios Liva in June 2011, with its focus on the Indian markets. The sedan caught the attention of the audience with its catchy tagline “World First, India First, My First”. The company forayed into the export market, shipping the first consignment of Etios to South Africa in April 2012. TKM plans to ramp up the production of the Etios series by opening its second plant in Bidadi, prompted by the need to match up with the growing demand for the sedans. The company plans to scale up the production capacity from 1.2 to 2.1 lakh units by early 2013 and to export 20,000 units annually.

TKM will source the engine and transmission systems for the cars from Toyota Kirloskar Auto parts which will produce about 1,00,000 engines annually, starting from the third quarter of 2012. The production will take up the localization ratio for Etios from 70% to more than 90%. TKM has ramped up its dealer network from 97 during 2009 to 175 outlets currently in an effort to expand its reach to the target customers. The company plans to launch 25 new outlets in semi urban and rural regions by Dec 2012 and to take up the network to 220 dealerships by early 2013.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Hiroshi Nakagawa, Managing Director, TKM commented “With the launch of Etios, TKM embarked on a very important and challenging journey and this is an important milestone. We thank the one lakh happy customers who have trusted the brand and also appreciated it. Despite unforeseen and unfortunate events like tsunami in Japan and the floods in Thailand, we have been able to achieve the One Lakh mark. We wish to give the common man an opportunity to drive a Toyota vehicle and we look forward to serving the Indian society by making more quality vehicles.”

Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director, Marketing, TKM commented “We are delighted to touch the One Lakh mark. The number reflects how the Etios family has grown and how Etios and Etios Liva has become a household brand in India. Customers have owned and appreciated the vehicles and we are constantly incorporating their feedback to be able to serve them better. This is a small yet very important milestone in this large project that will place TKM on a higher pedestal in the global operations of Toyota.”

posted by somdatta.basu @ Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 Comments Off links to this post

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July 13, 2011

Toyota Etios Liva sticker price makes the car a steal in India

Etios-Liva
The Toyota Etios Liva, which was launched about a couple of weeks ago in India already has made the Toyota dealers bring in more chairs to accommodate the prospective customers pouring in to book the car. Since its launch, Etios Liva has been in the limelight, and why not! Though with looks of plain Jane, the car is still lust worthy, thanks to its unmatched best in class price tag and fuel efficiency.

Toyota Liva can boast of a distinctive grille, sculpted surface and dynamic character-line in the front and rear, the aero kit – with front and rear bumper skirt, side skirt and roof spoiler make the vehicle stand out from the rest of the crowd.

The car powered by 1.2L, 16V DOHC petrol engine coupled with a 5-Speed manual transmission imparts high performance of the vehicle without compromising on the fuel efficiency. The car returns with a impressive mileage of 18.31kmpl (ARAI tested). The torque is available at low rpm for less gear shifting and ensures you get a smooth city driving experience.

With these features, the Toyota Liva is undoubtedly the best premium hatchback in the market. The icing on the cake, of-course is the price tag with which the car comes in. The price starts from Rs 3.99 lakh ex-showroom Delhi. Here is a quick look at the price of the car in different cities in India. In Ahmedabad, the price of Toyota Etios Liva is between Rs 4,25,478 – Rs 6,13,742 whereas the price of Liva in Chandigarh is about Rs 4,18,669 – Rs 6,04,797 (ex-showroom price).

The price of Etios Liva in Chennai is in the range of Rs 4,13,786 – Rs 5,99,518 and the prices in Bangalore range from Rs 4,21,476 – Rs 6,08,684. Toyota Etios Liva price in Jaipur range from Rs 4,26,910 – Rs 6,15,568 whereas the price of Liva in Delhi is between Rs 3,99,000 – Rs 5,99,000. The ex-showroom price of Etios Liva in Mumbai is Rs 4,12,604 – Rs 5,97,757.

posted by carazooblog @ Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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June 27, 2011

Toyota Etios Liva Launched with a shocking price tag

Etios Liva Launch
Toyota Etios Liva, Toyota Kirsolkar’s launch pad into the Indian small car market has finally hit the road today. The car has been introduced with a jaw dropping sticker price of Rs 3.99 Lakh for the base J variant, while the top end VX variant is priced at Rs 5.99 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi).

This offering from Toyota marks Toyota’s entry into the highly popular and competitive premium hatchback segment. Etios Liva is powered by a 1.2 litre, 4 pot DOHC engine which pumps out 80 PS of power at 5600 rpm and 104 Nm of torque at 3100 rpm. The car also boasts of class-best fuel economy of 18.31 kmpl (ARAI tested). The diesel versions of the car is expected to be launched in India later next year.

The Etios Liva will be sold in five variants J, G, G special edition, V, and VX. The prices of different variants are as follows: J: 3.99lakhs, G: 4.59lakhs, G Special edition: 5.05lakhs, V: 5.49lakhs and VX: 5.99 lakhs.

The base model being the stripped down version of the car would feature very few basic features while the top-end variant has exciting features such as Dual SRS Airbags, ABS, EBD, Immobilizer, Keyless Entry, steering-mounted audio controls, dual tone interiors, leather wrapped steering wheel, alloy wheels and chrome inserts on the grill and door handles.

Toyota has sweetened the deal by offering the Liva in seven exciting colours such as Vermillion Red, Celestial Black, Serene Bluish Silver, White, Symphony Silver, Harmony Beige and Ultramarine Blue.

Toyota can now boast of a portfolio complete with full range of products, right from the small car, Etios Liva to the range topping Land Cruiser SUV. The Toyota Motor’s management have set a goal of selling over 1,00,000 Etios sedans and hatchbacks in 2012.

toyota-etios-liva-hatch-india-rear

If you can recall, the Etios siblings were first showcased in last year’s Auto Expo held at New Delhi and later travelled to across the country with the ‘Toyota Q-World’ reaching out to more than one lakh prospective customers.

Toyota Liva, as expected will compete against a range of hatchback such as Hyundai i10, Maruti Swift, Maruti Wagon R, Fiat Punto, Ford Figo et all. With a price tag of Rs 3.99 Lakh, Liva will surely have a fan following and could become a segment favorite.

posted by carazooblog @ Monday, June 27th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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June 21, 2011

Toyota to launch the Etios Liva on June 27th June

toyota-etios-hatchback-photo
Toyota Kirloskar Motors have revealed that the official launch of the much awaited hatchback from the house of Toyota, The Etios Liva, is on schedule and will be launched on the 27th of June in Delhi.

With the launch of the Liva in the Indian Car Market, it will pave the way for the Japanese small car war in India. It is said that Toyota has already come out attractive sounding prices for the car, which will certainly get the ball rolling for the Toyota small cars in India.

The fierce and intense competition in the hatch back segment in India is getting better and better by the day and when the contenders are Toyota Liva, Honda Brio and Maruti Suzuki new Swift being pitted against each other for the hatch back glory expect fire works in motion.

The Toyota Etios Liva is powered by a 1.2 Litre MPFI petrol engine and is expected to pump out a peak power of 80 bhp, which again is quite powerful for a hatchback. Riding on the strongest feature of being light at only 890 kgs, the Liva is equipped with a 5 speed manual transmission that will not compromise on frugality and performance.

Toyota-Liva-Hatch

Well, for the interiors, the Liva certainly will be borrowing bits and pieces from its sibling Etios sedan and on the space front, the Liva is already a winner. And as far as the price is concerned, the Liva should carry a price tag of Rs 4 lakhs for the base variant which means other cars like Hyundai i10, Maruti Suzuki WagonR, Chevrolet Beat, Maruti Suzuki Zen Estilo must be scurrying for cover.

posted by carazooblog @ Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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March 23, 2011

India to become the 6th largest car manufacturer

Car Production 1-
It is a known fact that Indian auto industry has been expanding and growing at a alarming rate, which we all love to see the trend continues. But here comes a piece of news that is worth a look. India is all set to be the world’s sixth largest producer of cars.

The market pundits claim that Indian car production will cross the 3 million mark by the end of March 2011 making it the world’s sixth largest producers of cars just next to South Korea. India stands seventh now.

India will overtake Brazil in the days to come is what the industry analysts claim. Brazil holds the sixth position currently. The driving factor of the Indian automobile market is undisputedly the demand for small cars, which the middle class drive. The economy has been growing at a steady pace for the past few years. The increase in the income and spend-ability of the middle class of the country has catered to the rising demand for cars, which in-turn has made the carmakers to step on gas and produce more cars.

According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), India produced 26.78 lakh (2.678 million) cars from April 2010 to February 2011, and is likely to hit the 3 million mark by the time the financial year ends on March 31.

China is on top of the list with an annual production of 1.38 crore cars.
With several new launches coming up this year, India could produce 34.5 lakh cars in the new fiscal. “Actual sales are much higher than all our projections made in the past. The strong fundamental of the economy and new cars hitting the market are likely to keep the momentum going that should lead to a high growth of 14-16 % in the next fiscal despite the high base of current fiscal,” said Sugato Sen, senior director, SIAM.

Car Production 2

New launches played a major role in stirring demand. “The demand for newly-launched cars is much higher than our estimates. Just two of our new cars – Alto K10 and Eeco – launched in 2010, forms over 15% of our million cars sold in this fiscal. Helped by rising incomes and buoyant economy, new cars will continue to drive growth in the next fiscal too,” said Shashank Srivastava, the chief general manager (marketing) of Maruti Suzuki.

Maruti’s R3, Honda’s Brio, Toyota’s Etios Liva and GM’s Sail are among the 50 new cars, which are set to hit the market by FY12.

posted by carazooblog @ Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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March 7, 2011

Toyota Takes Steps to Reduce Waiting Period for Etios

Toyota Kirloskar Motors recently announced that it is taking active steps to bring down the waiting period for the Etios to half of the current situation.

This will be realized through various steps including starting of second shift production, changes to take time (production time per vehicle), production enhancement and postponement of the launch of Hatchback – Etios Liva from April to June – all reflecting the increasing demand for the Etios. Further details will be announced shortly.

Commenting on the steps, TKM Managing Director, Hiroshi Nakagawa said: “We are thankful for the positive consumer response to the Etios and for the resulting demand. Our customer-first philosophy means that we put the customers’ needs ahead of everything else – it is this philosophy that has always helped Toyota manufacture quality products and maximize customer satisfaction.”

Addressing customers, TKM Deputy Managing Director – Marketing, Sandeep Singh, said: “We thank our customers for the response we have received for the Etios and also for the patience shown through the waiting period. We would also like to sincerely apologize, to people eagerly awaiting the Hatchbck, Etios Liva, for the postponement of the launch. We will do everything we can to limit inconvenience caused to our customers.

posted by carazooblog @ Monday, March 7th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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November 30, 2010

Toyota Etios hatchback to be named Etios Liva

Toyota Etios Liva
As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the sedan version of the Toyota Etios will be launched at Bangalore tomorrow, on Dec 1. We did mention in the blog that the bookings for the same will commence from tomorrow and the bookings for the hatchback version of the car will begin in March 2011.

We guess even Toyota Kirloskar and Toyota Motor Corporation was fed up calling the car as Etios sedan and Etios hatchback and in a bid not to prolong our confusions regarding the car names, have hit upon a novel idea of coming up with a new name. The result seems good enough with Toyota preferring to call the Etios hatchback as Etios Liva.

Toyota Etios Liva will have a 1.2 litre petrol engine producing 70 bhp plonked in it when it will be launched in March 2011. A powerful version would probably soon follow as we have seen have seen in Volkswagen Polo 1.6, Fiat 90 HP and Tata Indica Vista 90 HP.

etios-hatchback-rear-photo

The Etios Liva, like Etios sedan will be lighter than its competitors which translates into better fuel efficiency. This tactic should go well with a country obsessed with mileage. On the space front, Toyota Etios sedan wins hands down as the car has ample amount of space in the interiors that will suit the Indian public. The case is pretty much the same with the upcoming Etios Liva also as it has already been billed as the most spacious hatch in its segment.