Toyota has confirmed that it won’t offer a diesel engine in the Toyota Yaris sedan at launch in India. According to a report from Autocar India, the company may not introduce a diesel engine option even at a later stage.
Toyota could have offered its small capacity diesel engine, the 1.4-litre D-4D unit shared by the Toyota Etios and Toyota Corolla, in the Toyota Yaris sedan. However, this unit isn’t BS-VI-compliant. Instead of upgrading it to make it BS-VI-compliant, the company may decide to discontinue it in the Toyota Etios and Toyota Corolla. There’s no certainty about developing a new small diesel engine that is BS-VI compliant, as it would require a major investment and that would drive up the price to a level where it would make the car uncompetitive.
In addition to the aforementioned issue, Toyota has also realised that customer preference in the B-segment is shifting towards petrol. So, it may introduce a petrol-electric full-hybrid powertrain instead of a diesel engine. This hybrid option may take a while to arrive, if greenlit, though.
Toyota will offer the Toyota Yaris sedan in India with a 1.5-litre Dual VVT-i four-cylinder petrol engine at launch. This engine produces 105 hp and 140 Nm of torque. Depending on the selected configuration, a 6-speed manual transmission or a continuously variable transmission will send power to the wheels.
Also Read: Top-end variants of Toyota Yaris will be expensive
The Toyota Yaris sedan will go on sale in India in May this year, with prices likely to start at around INR 8-9 lakh (ex-showroom). Top-end variants equipped with features like seven airbags and electrically adjustable seats may cost almost 13-14 lakhs (ex-showroom).
[Source: Autocar India]
