subject: Toyota To Introduce Hatchback 'etios Liva' By April 2011 [print this page] Japanese auto major Toyota said is already planning ahead to launch compact car 'Etios Liva' by April 2011 to strengthen position in India, where it is a fringe player in the car segment as against its leadership position globally. Powered by a smaller engine than its sedan sibling, a 1.2l unit which will also be introduced on the sedan version, the Toyota Etios Liva will be a weapon with the help of which Toyota plans to take hold of a 10 percent slice of the Indian market pie.
The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar
Group, said the pricing of the hatchback based on the same platform as its new Etios sedan will be decided after the Union Budget. It has priced the entry level sedan Etios between Rs 4.96 lakh and Rs 6.86 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
The Etios, which launched on December 01 on the market, is the result of several years' hard work from some 2,000 Toyota engineers. The car has been introduced onto the market with a 1.5l petrol engine which develops 90 ps and 132Nm of torque at 3,000 rpm.
TKM Deputy Managing Director Marketing Sandeep Singh said that the company plans to sell 70,000 cars in India in 2011. Recently, the company aims to sell 1.45 lakh units of all its models next year, from about 73,000 units expected in 2010.
The company intends to capture 10 per cent of the Indian car market by 2015, mainly on the back of the Etios family. Overall, 15 lakh cars were sold in the country in 2009-10. Globally, Toyota was the world's largest carmaker in 2010 despite its consolidated sales declining by 4.4 per cent to 7.24 million units from the previous year.
