The Japanese auto major may not have had the best of the year, but that isn’t deteriorating their spirit. The company plans to launch refreshed models of their existing portfolio to rejuvenate their sales figures.
Fresh of the oven will be the facelifted Fortuner and Innova. Major design changes have be done to the front and the rear fascia to make them look fresh and updated. Although nothing has changed mechanically, the Innova and Fortuner will get a touch screen media center and the Fortuner will also get with an Auto box.
The Toyota Prius will be manufactured at the Gateway Plant in Thailand and that prompts the question – Will TKM make use of the trade agreement between the two countries and lower the price of the Prius by assembling Thai kits at Bidadi?
Deputy Managing Director of TKM (Toyota Kirloskar Motors) was kind enough to field this question -
We have no plans now to assemble the Prius in India. We sold 150 vehicles in India and the Prius is expensive. In Thailand, the demand for hybrid vehicles is high.
Perhaps Toyota’s market study showed there were no real chance to gain numbers even if the Prius was brought to India through the CKD route. Customers who buy the Prius are of high profile, and regardless of the price, they will sign on the dotted line.
Mr.Singh said the company’s focus is now on the Etios which will be launched in December.
Despite recalls, the Toyota Prius has managed to attract customers in India
The world’s largest selling hybrid car Toyota Prius has received 80 confirmed bookings in India and the first batch of 24 have reached customers already. Toyota had settled for 200 cars to be imported from Japan for 2010, but after seeing the demand, it may need to rethink that number.
Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director (marketing), Toyota Kirloskar Motors -
We are happy with the demand for the car and believe that once the cars hit the road demand will go up further. Bookings are robust and should go beyond the 200 cars that we have asked for from TMC, though we are not likely to get any more cars this year. Next year we will definitely order more cars… maybe 400 or 500.
Most of the cars sold so far belong to entrepreneurs and industrialists. Toyota expects Bollywood artists to join the camp soon as the Prius customer, according to the company, makes a statement and stands out of the crowd. Toyota believes this will start happening as soon as cars are available at dealerships for test drives.
The Toyota Prius isn’t related to Prius industries though both same a common name
The Delhi High Court has dismissed Toyota’s petition seeking exclusive rights over the “Prius” trademark in India. The Delhi HC dismissed Toyota’s plea seeking an order that prevented Prius Auto Industries, a high-profile automotive supplier, from using their trademark.
The court has also asked Toyota why they had waiting for all the six years (since the trademark was approved for Prius Industries to use) before filing a case.
The High Court also disagreed with Toyota’s plea stating that the buyer of Prius Industries’ components would confuse the products with the Toyota hybrid car. Toyota believed that buyers of the Prius Industries’ spare parts would think they came from Toyota.
Why did Toyota get into this tussle over the name in the first place? A potential Prius customer, who is shelling out almost 30 lakh to procure this hybrid car, would be educated enough to understand that a components supplier cannot manufacture/be related to one the world’s most acclaimed automobile. If Toyota is very doubtful, it should think of the connection that can take place in the customer’s mind between Land Rover and Land Cruiser. Both make SUVs and both are expensive.
The new Toyota Prius was Japan’s best selling vehicle and one of our favorites
The update is that Toyota will not be making a loss on the Prius in India. This is not exactly a “breaking news”, but rather a no brainer. After all, every car maker wants to introduce models that make good money for them.
Strategically speaking, the question is important as the Prius is coming to India under an limited order of 200 vehicles. The pricing is above Rs. 25 lakh and Toyota already have orders for 54 vehicles. That is a good order booked in a short time for this car.
Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motors had this to say in an interview for Forbes India -
Priced at over Rs. 25 lakh, isn’t the car very expensive?
We always knew that we are going to be very expensive and that’s primarily because of the custom duty levied on the car. We did approach Toyota Motor Corporation for subsidies but we were advised to speak to the Government of India. That’s how it works in most other countries where we have launched the Prius. Most governments have a subsidy or concession plan in place. So for the last six months we have been talking to the government, but we realised that it will take time to get any special concessions. The question was whether we should wait to work with the government, or go ahead and launch it. So, we decided to be selfish and launched the Prius which has all the features of any luxury car and I think it will connect with a limited, select group of people.
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54 Priuses booked in India -
Toyota Kirloskar Motor has received 54 orders for their hybrid vehicle Prius, which was launched at the Auto Expo last month. The Toyota Prius is available for an ex-showroom price of Rs 26.55 lakh and Rs 27.86 lakh rupees. Toyota had requested a consignment of 200 vehicles which it hopes to sell before the end of this year. Deliveries of the Prius begin in March.
Mercedes Benz finds 5 buyers for SLS AMG -
Mercedes Benz India Limited has found its fifth buyer in India, reports Times of India. The 2 crore rupee Mercedes Benz was showcased at the Auto Expo last month with gullwing doors, an AMG 6.3-litre V8 front-mid-engine developing 420 kW (571 hp) peak output, 650 Nm of torque.
Mahindra plans 2 Maxximo variants
Mahindra plans to launch two new variants of the Maxximo – a passenger carrier (taking on the Tata Ace Magic) and a CNG edition of the pickup truck in the coming months. The Maxximo is powered via 2-cylinder CRDI engine, which this segment has not seen so far. The wrap around headlamps with reflectors, dead pedal, larger cabin, drive by wire throttle and 850kg payload capacity makes the Maxximo a superior vehicle on paper compared to the market leader Tata Ace.
Some Ford Fusion hybrids have braking issues which will be rectified
If you think hybrids are the future of automobiles, hit your “Brakes” and wait. Over the last few months we witnessed the massive recall of Toyota vehicles in the US and UK to fix faulty accelerator pedals. This is followed by Honda’s recall of its City and Jazz models across many countries to fix faulty electronic windows switches on the driver’s door.
The latest cause of worry is one of Toyota’s best selling cars in the US – the Prius. Toyota has acknowledged a problem with the brakes on the Prius. The hybrid Prius has an advanced regenerative braking system that converts kinetic energy to electrical energy. Apparently, the problem is caused by a glitch in the brake software that has forced the company to issue a massive recall of 270,000 Prius vehicles in US and Japan.
Well, Toyota is not alone. It appears that one of the other best selling hybrid cars might have an problem as well. Ford has launched a “Customer Satisfaction Program” aimed specifically for Ford Fusion Hybrid (sedan, not connected with the Fusion sold in India) customers. Cars manufactured prior to Oct 17, 2009 will receive a free software update to reduce the chances of a brake failure. Ford has not acknowledged a fault with the braking system on the Fusion hybrid, but indicates that the customers might experience a “different brake feel” due to the switch between the electronic and hydraulic brake systems.
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The third generation Toyota Prius needs to be assembled in India if it has to find success
Business Standard is reporting that Toyota is presently conducting feasibility studies in India for its hybrid car Prius. It is understood that Toyota will not stop with just offering petrol and diesel powered variants in the country.
In March this year, to estimate the reaction of the general public, the Toyota Prius was put on display at the 18th International Engineering and Technology Fair (IETF )in Bangalore.
Toyota could take the CBU route but that will bump costs into head-spinning levels. The Indian government does not offer any duty slashes for imported hybrid vehicles. The Honda Civic Hybrid had no takers when its price tag was around 20-25 lakh rupees. When the price was brought down by 8 lakh rupees, the consignment was sold in just a matter of days.
That leaves us with just one feasible option – CKD kits.
Only if priced well, will the Prius find buyers in India. Maybe Toyota could run an introductory offer so that Indian customers get familiar with the technology and added benefits of a hybrid car. Later on, as the word spreads, it could hike prices according to the level of demand.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to how many hybrid vehicles Toyota wants to sell in India
