Toyota, the Japanese automaker giant, is getting ready to discontinue the Etios, Etios Liva and Etios Cross from its line-up in India. The Toyota Etios and Etios Liva were introduced in India almost a decade back at the Auto Expo 2010.
The Etios line-up is getting discontinued due to high up-gradation costs involved in order to meet the upcoming BS-VI norms and this doesn't make a feasible business case due to comparatively lower returns.
The Toyota Etios has been a rather slow seller with just about 4.44 lakh units sold in the last 9 years. Out of all the models, the diesel variants contribute majorly as 2 out of 3 models sold are diesel-powered. Toyota believes that upgrading the current BS-IV 1.4-litre D-4D diesel engine to BS-VI would be an expensive deal that will raise the prices of the entire Etios range pushing them out of the competitive spot. On the other hand, upgrading the petrol Etios won't be an expensive affair, but it would prolong the Etios’ life by only a few months since Toyota Etios models do not comply with the upcoming pedestrian protection norms (October 2020).
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The Toyota Etios is based on the EFC platform. Though the entire Etios line-up is ready to meet all the present-day crash test norms, these cars are not designed for the upcoming pedestrian protection norms. It was suggested by Yoshinori Noritake, chief engineer of the Etios project, models based on the EFC platform only had an eight-year lifecycle, hence Etios sedan and Liva hatchback have already done their duties.
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The entry of new and modern competitors in the segment has resulted in the faster ageing of the Toyota Etios line-up. Though the company has introduced small updates over the years, the outdated design and lack of modern features have forced Toyota to take this decision. Going forward, Toyota plans to launch several budget models in India under its alliance with Suzuki, just like Glanza which has done significantly well in the market. The current-gen Toyota Etios will be replaced by a next-gen model which is reported to be a proper Maruti Dzire rival. Read about it here!
[Source - Autocar India]
