Toyota developing a small car for India

Japan based leading car maker Toyota Motors is reported to be developing a low cost fuel efficient small car for fastest growing markets like India and China. A leading news paper in Japan reported on Friday that the company is targeting to launch a new small car by 2012 along with an expected price tag of 1 million yen ($11,520). According to the news report, the new compact car will be manufactured on the platform of its popular subcompact models Vios and Vitz/Yaris. The report further elaborates that the company is eying on cutting-down the manufacturing cost of this car by using about 30 to 40 percent local content in this car.

According to the paper, the Daihatsu Motor Co., a minivehicle unit of Toyota, is also developing a small car for the South-East Asian market and the car is expected to be launched under the brand Toyota. However, the company has declined to confirm any of such reports.

Meanwhile, the company has started the final preparation of the launch of its much awaited compact hatchback Toyota Etios which is going to be launched in the Indian market by the end of this year. The company is expecting that Etios will generate high volumes in the Indian market and will contribute as much as 50% in the total sales of the company in the calender year 2011. The Etios hatchback will carry a price tag of Rs 4 to 5 lakh and will compete with some of the most popular cars of this volume driven segment including Maruti Swift, Hyundai i10, Nissan Micra, Volkswagen Polo, Ford Figo and Fiat Punto. The Etios model will be launched in a hatchback version initially and a sedan version will follow after a few moths. The sedan version of this prospective car will be competing with some of the most popular cars in India including Maruti Swift Dzire, Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Fiat Linea and Ford Fiesta.