[mints21]

In a recent interaction with Economic Times, Naomi Ishii (Head-Indian Business) of Toyota Motors India has said that they are working on a new modular architecture like Volkswagen group's MQB platform.

The structure called "Toyota New Global Architecture" is designed to build a portfolio of cars based on common parts.

He said that the New Innova and Fortuner will be based on this architecture. This is a clear hint that an all new Innova is expected in near future, may be by the end of 2014 or beginning of 2015.

Mr. Naomi was candid in admitting that they are working hard to find a right balance between global models and regional models and also offer efficiency.

Mr. Naomi admits that Toyota is a little slow compared to its competitors when it comes to anticipation for the future in terms of product planning, based on customers need.

He has also stressed on the need to consolidate Liva and Etios in terms of volumes, which have not been able to bring desired results to Toyota's portfolio. He has also talked about expanding the dealership network and increased localisation to reduce cost.

Here is a complete link to the News Item.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...&ViewMode=HTML

[octane_100]

As they say, acknowledging the problem means half the problem solved; If they are able to solve the other half, it would be exciting times for us :-)

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by mints21

In a recent interaction with Economic Times, Naomi Ishii (Head-Indian Business) of Toyota Motors India has said that they are working on a new modular architecture like Volkswagen group's MQB platform.

The structure called "Toyota New Global Architecture" is designed to build a portfolio of cars based on common parts.

He said that the New Innova and Fortuner will be based on this architecture. This is a clear hint that an all new Innova is expected in near future, may be by the end of 2014 or beginning of 2015.

He has also stressed on the need to consolidate Liva and Etios in terms of volumes, which have not been able to bring desired results to Toyota's portfolio. He has also talked about expanding the dealership network and increased localisation to reduce cost.

I doubt Innova and Fortuner based on Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA). TNGA is a monocoque platform which will span a lot of models, where as Fortuner, which is Hilux, is not likely to have monocoque chassis. Though moving Innova to monocoque construction is possible. And the drivetrains and a lot of parts might be shared.

Focus on product range under Rs. 10 lakh should get more focus from Toyota, learning from Hyundai how they provide high overall interior quality and above average fit and finish at a very competitive price.

Also, if Innova and Fortuner climb the ladder of price, other alternatives might eat into their sales. Toyota has to realize that already its products, including Etios and Liva are overpriced for what they are offering. Innova prices have almost doubled from the day of its launch ( where as they would have depreciated major tooling related investment ). Its nice to know that Toyota has realized the problem, what remains to be seen is how they manage to address the issues and bring in new VFM propositions.

[arin_12]

I would say that Toyota is now feeling the heat. If they were visionary enough, then they could have done something else earlier. The old horse Innova is still running on the ground with various facelifts. The Indian market is heating up with various other players, the sale of Innova is also sinking. You still find a lack of service in various parts of India too.

On top of everything, they always expect a premium price tag.

[AmazeGuru]

Originally Posted by arin_12

On top of every thing they always expect a premium price tag.

This may not be completely true as Etios and Liva are still competitively priced (whether they are successful products or not is debatable). Also, to a large extent, so called ‘premium price tag’ goes into making the product reliable. I’m sure many wont disagree that Toyota’s reliability and peace of mind for owners is still unmatched by many car makers in India.

Agreed that they are not very aggressive (Ex: Hyundai) in coming up with India-specific models, but they have got most of the basic things right, if they decide to go aggressive in near future.

[LobsterB]

Originally Posted by AmazeGuru

Agreed that they are not very aggressive (Ex: Hyundai) in coming up with India-specific models, but they have got most of the basic things right, if they decide to go aggressive in near future.

Which was the last India specific model Hyundai launched? I thought except Eon everything else was sold at least in Europe/Australia. Even Eon I suppose is sold in South East Asian markets.

[Max]

Originally Posted by AmazeGuru

Agreed that they are not very aggressive (Ex: Hyundai) in coming up with India-specific models, but they have got most of the basic things right, if they decide to go aggressive in near future.

Basic things right? Who in the right mind put speedometer in center of the dashboard! Its a recipe for disaster. Whoever made this design choice should be fired. Indians like beige interior and cool looking cars / interiors. Is it so hard to understand for Toyota?

[F150]

I was thinking on the lines of Toyota's plans to bring a SUV in the sub 20L bracket when I opened the thread, but the news is rather boring !
Nothing in it that excites me.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by arin_12

...The old horse Innova is still running on the ground with various facelift. As we see in Indian market is hotting up with various other player, the sell of Innova is also sinking...

Inspite of the age old model, it's also a fact that NO players have / could take a pie of the Innova's sales. So when everything is working for Toyota, why should they change?

Originally Posted by arin_12

...You still find the lack of service in various parts of India too.
On top of every thing they always expect a premium price tag....

When you have a Toyota product, service is never an issue. Am sure atleast 95% of the customers just go to the service centre for their regular service, may be once in an year or 6 months.

They expect & get away (except Etios / Liva) with the premium because their products are worth it compared to the competition offerings.

Originally Posted by AmazeGuru

This may not be completely true as Etios and Liva are still competitively priced (whether they are successful products or not is debatable)...

Please do NOT forget that Etios / Liva get a lesser equipment list compared to the competition (Swift / Dzire) while priced at a very similar bracket.

Originally Posted by AmazeGuru

...Also, to a large extent, so called ‘premium price tag’ goes into making the product reliable. I’m sure many wont disagree that Toyota’s reliability and peace of mind for owners is still unmatched by many car makers in India......

Absolutely.

Originally Posted by Max

... Indians like beige interior and cool looking cars / interiors. Is it so hard to understand for Toyota?

As per the above statment, Etios / Liva should be a hit (now) since those sport beige interiors. And as far as I remember, Swift still has all-black interiors and sells almost 5x than Liva.

The fact is, the problems with Etios / Liva were / are more than the beige color or centre mounted speedo. Both these products scream "cheap" right from the time you take a look at it, but priced at par with Swift which has a better feel and equipment kit while boasting very similar reliability levels.

And for God sake, the beige color in Etios / Liva ??? The grey looked much better!

[mints21]

Hi,

Just came across this news item in the Autocarindia, that Toyota is planning to launch the next generation Etios in Auto Expo 2016.

Design is one issue and you will see that the new version will have a much better design, said Hisayuki Inoue, CEO Asia-Pacific operations, Toyota. According to Toyota, there are various studies being carried out currently to gather feedback and customer preferences across the Indian market, which are to be taken into account for the next generation Toyota Etios.

Here is the link to the news item:

http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-new...16-381072.aspx

[wantarangerover]

Toyota's days as a 'premium' brand in India might soon be over, with new players coming in, all the while not helped by Toyota themselves, by selling cheap cars at premium prices, expecting the badge to pull through sales. Thankfully, that hasn't happened with the Etios and Liva. This sudden 'realization' that they might have to reduce their prices to be competitive, is welcome.

Japanse manufacturers traditionally take a lot of time over decision-making and are reluctant to fully engage in product research & development with the non-Japanese (the 'gaijin' obsession). Of course, US is an exception, since it is the biggest market. If you observe, most top posts in the Indian arms of Japanese companies are Japanese, and I wonder how much they understand the market from an Indian POV.

[naut]

Toyota looking for feedback? My 2 cents..

Toyota please don't come up with a new ETIOS . Please bring in the latest generation VIOS that was launched in Thailand last year.

It seems much much better in all respects and should bode well with the Indian market. Link to the Toyota VIOS thread : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...yota-vios.html

[Rahul Rao]

Have used two Innovas till date the first for 1.9 Lakh KM, and the second for 2.84 Lakh km which I recently sold. The cars were rock solid reliable, the only non routine service part that I changed was a water-pump in the second car. Even tyres lasted close to a lakh km, though I used to change them at about 80,000 Km with about 25% tread depth in existence. Clutch plates used to last 1.2 to 1.5 lakh km.
When launched in 1995 the Innova was a dream come true, but after that the car is just the same no major change except cosmetic.
The common complaint of all users that cross-member below gearbox scrapes tall speed breakers was rectified in type 4.
Even Automatic gears which are available in Indonesia are not a option here though gearbox is same as the one used in the Fortuner.
Cannot understand why they don't go in for what people want. Reliablity cannot sell beyond a certain point.

Rahul

[Rubbertramps]

Finally Toyota has realized a decade old model doesn't appeal to the regular joe atleast. A welcome move but 2016 seems to be a long time !

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by Max

Basic things right? Who in the right mind put speedometer in center of the dashboard! Its a recipe for disaster. Whoever made this design choice should be fired. Indians like beige interior and cool looking cars / interiors. Is it so hard to understand for Toyota?

Also something that looks less like a Taxi. Most of the time, people I know (non petrol-heads) confuse the Etios for the Logan. They both look so similar its not funny.

Its high-time Toyota realized that their "reliable" tag can only go so far and no further. Its not just the Etios twins, even the Corolla which is supposed to be their bread and butter model isn't doing well. The only successes being Innova (and a lack of serious competition in the segment) and to a certain extent the Fortuner.

Going by the new top-hat on the US-spec Corolla, it seems like a global decision to make their cars "more exciting" rather than a specific response to the Etios flop, which in a way seems even more disappointing towards their famed management.