IAB reader Abhishek H sent in these three snaps of the Toyota Corolla Altis facelift testing in Banglore. The vehicle, originally planned for a May unveil, will take longer to land on the market as Toyota is met with component shortage troubles. TKM told IAB that the vehicle will feature a transmission upgrade (Automatic transmission will be a 7 speed) and a thorough cosmetic makeover.
The car was spotted at the 100-feet road. Abhishek saw it from a distance slowing down at a signal junction. There where two cars, red and blue and at the sight of a camera, the drivers zoomed away. The Altis facelift is important for Toyota even though it’s the market leader by a good margin. The lead could shrink if vehicles like the Ford Focus, Hyundai Avante, Renault Fluence and new Honda Civic are introduced. The market could sway in favor the new offerings in this segment like it has done before.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor has put off the launch of new Corolla citing problems with components sourcing.
Mr Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor to Indian Autos Blog -
We are not launching the (new) Corolla next month due to non-availability of components. We will continue selling the existing model.
Mr Singh added that the situation will be a bit clear during the end of May and the company will take a call on the revised launch date then. He said the new Corolla will have upgraded transmission and changes mainly will be cosmetic.
In a surprise or sorts, Toyota has opted for the seven-speed CVT on the facelifted Corolla Altis rumored to debut next month, Autocar India reports. The current Corolla employs an old 4-speed torque-converter.
Toyota will continue offering the same manual transmission and engines – 1.8-liter petrol and 1.4-liter diesel, will also be retained. This puts an end to speculations of a smaller 1.6-liter petrol engine to take on the Honda City.
The new Altis will come with refreshed looks and minor interior changes. The Altis was given a facelift back in 2008 and since then there hasn’t been any cosmetic upgrades barring the diesel variant on which a mesh grille was introduced.
If news from AutocarIndia is to be believed, then the new Corolla is all set to encompass a wider section of the Indian sedan market. According to ACI, Toyota is all set to drop a 1.6L in the Corolla. This way, the Corolla will now also cover the C+ segment. Now a Teambhp member has spotted this soon-to-be-launched face lifted Corolla in Mangalore. From the images, you must have noticed [ Read More ]
CAR India reports Toyota Kirloskar Motors is planning to launch the Altis facelift in April 2011. The new Corolla Altis was spied by an Autocar India reader last month where it was also reported that a 1.6-liter petrol engine was planned to launch a sudden attack on the Honda City. CAR India’s reports echoes the same claims. The smaller 1.6 litre Valvematic petrol engine could feature on the base variants [ Read More ]
We love Toyota cars for their impeccable quality and reliability. But Toyotas (apart from a few models) aren’t necessary what one would call COOL. Take for example the Corolla-Civic equation: Both were launched somewhere around the same time and cost more or less the same. But over the years, the Civic has become every college boy’s dream car and the Corolla has become a 3 star Hotel’s pick up car. [ Read More ]
Entry posted on January 11, 2009 by
Dave;
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Toyota
World’s second largest car manufacturer – Toyota, has’nt been quite successful last year around (after seeing the first loss in 71 Years!) But now has some news to cheer! The cheer comes from India, in the form of Corolla Altis’ leadership. The Corolla Altis which was launched here in September ’08, had become an instantaneous hit and soon took the title of market leader since October 2008. It has won the hearts of many a customer and has successfully regained leadership (Overthrowing Honda Civic) in the premium sedan segment (C-Segment) of the Indian automotive market. The 10th generation Corolla Altis has achieved 42 per cent market share in the period September – December 2008 in the premium mid-sized car segment.
A few months ago, we brought you spy pictures of the upcoming Suzuki Kizashi testing in the U.S, which you can view here. It looks like the Suzuki Kizashi could well be the next vehicle from Maruti after the upcoming A-Star and the Splash in India. Maruti is taking bold decisions after the immense success of its latest models-The Swift and the SX4. We expect the A-Star and the Splash [ Read More ]
