Thursday, June 23, 2011
By Pranjal Gera
Toyota Etios Liva set to storm the hatchback segment
On June 27, the price war ongoing in the Hatchback segment in Indian auto market is set to flare up with Toyota launching its first small car Toyota Etios Liva. A company executive from Toyota revealed that the price of the basic version of Liva is expected to be around INR 4,00,000 and the top end version with ABS and multiple Airbags will come with a price tag of 5.5lakhs to 6lakhs.
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Coming with a 1.2L engine Toyota Etios Liva would become the cheapest small car in the hatchback segment. With 2.5 million cars, the hatchback segment of the Indian auto industry is the fastest growing and with the induction of Toyota Etios Liva rivals maybe forced for a price cut. The prices range from 4.3 Lakh to eight Lakh depending on variants in the hatchback segment. PricewaterhouseCoopers Auto Practice Leader Abdul Majeed said that price is the just the first part of the competition.
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He also added that price reductions are due to happen with Indian market getting crowded. He said that the customers are going to benefit from the price wars and they may start looking at bigger cars in future. Honda Siel hinted a price war in Sedan segment with a price cut of INR 66,000 of Honda City, a move considered by many as Honda’s measure to tackle the VW Verito who now leads the segment after displacing Honda City and the newly re-launched Hyundai Verna.
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Honda, which is also planning to launch its small car, Honda Brio, will be under stress to price it appropriately to stand against the Toyota Etios Liva. A price cut on the Honda Jazz is also expected to lure Indian customers, as currently it is priced way higher than its rivals are. Other companies may follow a similar route. Toyota Kirloskar Motor Deputy MD (Marketing) Sandeep Singh said that the Liva like Etios would be priced in a comfortable bracket. He also added that Liva is a brand new car which will offer Indian customers a great value for money.
Some of the popular hatchback models in the Indian auto market are Ford Figo, Maruti Swift, Hyundai i10, Chevrolet Beat and Volkswagen Polo. Apart from these popular models, cars going to hit the Indian roads this year are Maruti Cervo and New Ford Fiesta.
