Toyota Etios by early 2011

Toyota Motors has displayed its upcoming hatchback and sedan Etios at several places in the country and the Japanese auto giant is all set to roll out the compact car Etios by early next year. This is Toyota’s first hatch especially designed for India. The car is suppose to have DOHC 16-valve engine with a 1200cc displacement and is expected to be priced around Rs 5 lakh. Toyota would be manufacturing Etios in both hatchback and sedan variants. Toyota Etios was at display at the Delhi auto Expo 2010 and evoked curiosity among onlookers. The hatch and notchback segment of Etios have a sharp and big smiling grille that has been high-mounted especially for India and give the car a very tough look. According to Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd (TKML) Managing Director Hiroshi Nakagawa, “Our compact car Etios, which has been specially designed and developed for the Indian market, will be launched in the first quarter of 2011, as our second plant is scheduled to go on stream by this year-end.”

Toyota’s current portfolio includes Toyota Innova, Toyota Corolla that are manufactured at its first plant with a production capacity of 100,000 units. Other products like Toyota Camry and Toyota Prado are imported from Japan in CKD (completely knocked down) version and assembled at the Bidadi plant. According to Nakagawa, “The engine for Etios, however, will be imported from our global manufacturing plant in Japan, as the volumes are small to produce them in India.”

Nakagawa’s plan is to be able to sell about 70,000 units of Toyota Etios in the first year and gain a strong market position in the Indian car market. Like several other big car makers of the world Toyota also wishes to set up a research and development (R&D) centre in India.