subject: Muvs By Toyota, Maruti, Tata, Nissan And Ford [print this page] After flooding the hatchback segment with a number of products it looks like automakers have their eyes set on the MUV (multi-purpose vehicle) segment. The MUV segment has been a much ignored one till now but now auto giants like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Toyota, Nissan and Ford have plans of rolling out new products in this segment. This shift of focus is being attributed to competitive pricing and volume sales possible in this segment.
Better fuel economy, good interior space and a competitive price tag would be the driving forced behind the Mini MPVs. These cars are generally passenger carriers that look like smaller vans with increased interior room. These are different kind of vehicles with 7-8 seater capacity. According to Abdul Majeed, auto practice leader, PwC, Its best to launch a product in a segment thats not yet a developed category and lacks competition. If the company manages to innovatively package the product, it could insure volume sales.
There is no doubt on the fact that the Indian automobile market is filled up with and is known for its hatchback segment but it is the MUV's that are the recent hype. With all the big automobile companies lining up to launch heir own MUV's it is sure that this is the segment of the future.
It would be interesting to see whether automakers launch all new vehicles or use old platforms to develop these vehicles. It is likely that Toyota might work on the Etios platform for this new kind of MPV, which is likely to be positioned below Toyota Innova. Other carmakers like Maruti Suzuki are likely to come out with a brand new concept called Concept RIII. Maruti would go for an all new platform and launch the product in 12-18 months. Another Indian manufacturer Tata Motors is likely to develop the new MPV on the Ace mini truck platform. And Nissan and Ford are likely to develop the mini MPVs on Micra and Fiesta platform.
But in the end it would all depend on the pricing of these mini MPVs. While Maruti-Suzuki's Omni and Eeco have a price tag of Rs 2-3 lakh, it is likely that the new players might price these MPVs around Rs 5 to 6 lakh.
