What crosses your mind when you hear the word Toyota? Reliable, Practical? Well Toyota cars has made its mark in the world as the manufacturer of the most reliable and robust cars in the world. As the second largest car brand in the world, Toyota cars enjoys a total revenue of USD 257.8 billion. Toyota Motor Corporation entered India in a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group in 1997. Moving forward to December 1999, Toyota cars in India became a reality with the launch of Qualis. The 8–10-seater MUV launched at a starting price of Rs 4.6 lakh (ex-showroom, India) and helped establish the Toyota brand in the country. Since its humble beginnings, the company has grown from strength to strength building a reputation for dependability, low service costs, and extended warranty coverage. As of October 2022, Toyota Motor Company has exceeded its global vehicle production target by 23 percent and also introduced exciting new products like the Innova Hycross and the Urban Cruiser Hyryder in the country.
In this article, we go into the reasons behind Toyota’s success in the Indian market.
Reliability
Indian buyers are conscious of after-sales support offered by automobile manufacturers. The Japanese automaker established a reliable service ecosystem with an engine warranty. Also, the affordable service costs and extended warranty of up to 7 years have made Toyota a reliable automobile brand in the Indian market. If you wish to purchase a vehicle offering lower TCO (total cost of ownership) and good resale value, Toyota cars are the one.
Innova
Toyota Innova MPV became a household name in the Indian market since its launch in March 2005. With the introductory price of 6.5 lakhs (ex-showroom, Mumbai), the Toyota car became a runaway hit. The MPV’s 2.5 litre Turbo-Diesel engine delivered 102 bhp of maximum power and fuel mileage of 11-15 km/litre. Often dubbed the family car of India, Innova became the symbol of quality, resilience, and dependability. The new-generation Toyota Innova Crysta launched in 2016 has become the runaway market leader in the MPV segment. The Toyota car has a good resale value that attracts first-time owners and pre-owned buyers.
Manufacturing
Toyota has two manufacturing plants in India, both in Bidadi, Karnataka. The recently launched midsize SUV Hyryder booking numbers are not revealed yet but the waiting period is up to two months. With good reviews and demands for the Toyota cars – Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Innova HyCross, expect a record output of 3 lakh units in the next financial year. The automaker hopes to push the production capacity to a new high to reduce the waiting period on some Toyota cars in India.
Partnership
Tie-ups in the Indian passenger vehicle space have not delivered results and success for the stakeholders. Be it the Mahindra & Mahindra-Renault alliance to the Tata-Volkswagen tie-up to the Ford and Mahindra partnership, all failed. Toyota Kirloskar Motor introduced Glanza and Urban Cruiser — rebadged versions of the Baleno and Vitara Brezza. This year, the Japanese automaker unveiled the Urban Cruiser Hyrder, its first midsize SUV for India, developed with Maruti Suzuki. As per Toyota, 65 percent of Glanza customers are first-time Toyota buyers, and 95 percent of Urban Cross SUVs are first-time Toyota buyers. The partnership is evolving from cross-badging vehicles to developing compact SUVs, a segment driving the Indian automobile market. Toyota believes that the tie-up is beneficial because of the access to Suzuki’s extensive after-sales network in the country.
Going green
This month, Toyota launched its second hybrid car in India. The Innova HyCross, a hybrid version of the popular Toyota car follows the success of the hybrid sport-utility vehicle (SUV), Urban Cruiser HyRyder. Toyota and partner Suzuki Motor Corp have plans to manufacture hybrid vehicles in India for domestic sale and export to international markets. Also, the automaker has ventured into the CNG segment with options for the Glanza and Urban Cruiser Hyryder model line-up.
