Toyota, world’s largest automobile producer, is experiencing a resounding success with its Etios sedan and Etios Liva model in the Indian auto market, with the sale numbers outpacing the targeted figures.
Toyota Etios, in its first seven months of launching in the country has got 37,000 orders in comparison to the estimated target of 30,000, showing the impresisve success of Etios.
The Japanese giant has set a goal of 60,000 Etios cars for 2011 and has increased the target to 100,000 Etios units in 2012. The company is also eying the swelling Indian utility market and is in discussion whether to introduce an SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) or an MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle) Etios in the country as per Chief Engineer for Models, Yoshinori Noritake.
Toyota was much overjoyed when its newly hatched Etios Liva witnessed 1,400 orders within four days of its launching, again above the expected 1,000 bookings. Etios Liva is the cheapest vehicle to come out from the stable of Toyota with base variant priced at Rs 3,90,000. Now the company plans to move to other global auto markets with the hatchback.
With Etios sedan and Liva getting praise all over India, Toyota is now aiming at Maruti’s supremacy in the small car segment. To tumble a giant like Maruti, one needs to have a network of dealerships and service centers, and hence Toyota aims to have additional 42 dealerships by the end of 2012, totaling to 200.
