Toyota mulling automatic transmission for Etios, Liva

Toyota Kirloskar Motor is considering giving the Etios sedan and Liva hatchback automatic transmission in the next 8-10 months. This development comes as a reaction to the growing market for automatic cars due to the convenience they offer by making driving relatively stress-free.

Earlier, cars with automatic transmissions were considered to have higher fuel consumption and lower performance compared to those with manual variants. Automatic transmissions also cost much more than manual gearboxes. Now however, these differences are coming down very quickly and with traffic on the roads increasing, many people have started finding automatics more appealing.

Toyota offers automatic transmission on the Corolla, Camry and Fortuner. Its entry level products (Etios and Liva) come with only manual transmissions. With prominent players like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda and Tata offering or planning to offer automatic transmission on vehicles competing directly with the Etios and Liva, the Toyota cannot afford to continue with only manual transmissions.

Source: Economic Times