Toyota plans eight new compact models

Toyota Motor Corp. may have clinched the coveted title of being the world’s largest carmaker in 2012, but that isn’t going to stop the Japanese carmaker from hatching even more ambitious plans, especially with regards to new products and emerging markets.

Citing growing competition from the likes of General Motors and Volkswagen globally, the Japanese giant has now announced its plans of introducing eight new compact-size models for growing markets such as India, China and Brazil by 2015.

Toyota had showcased three compact car concepts at the 12th Beijing Auto Show and we expect the new vehicles to be based on them. The Toyota Dear Qin, a global-strategic concept, previews a new compact global car that could be launched in a couple of years. These hatchback and saloon models are likely to be entry-level vehicles targeted at first time car buyers.

Looking at the Dear Qin concepts, it is clear that Toyota has skipped a couple of generations in terms of styling. The concepts look very modern and the styling is a big departure from that of the Etios, which many found too conservative. Even though the actual car won’t look as dramatic as the concept, we expect the Japanese carmaker to stick close to the concept’s design language. In recent times, we have seen carmakers like Ford and Honda stick closer to the styling cues of their concept models and we expect Toyota to follow in their footsteps.

Toyota expects to sell 50 percent of its vehicles in the emerging markets by 2015, up from around 45 percent last year. And the company says that an increase in localization percent in these markets will actually help them price its future compact models competitively.

Toyota had launched the Etios, its first made-for-India saloon, in December 2010 and since then has crossed the one-lakh sales mark along with the Etios Liva hatchback, launched in 2011. The company also plans to increase the localisation content of these models by locally producing engine and transmission at the Toyota Kirloskar Auto Part in Bidadi. This is in line with its plans of launching locally produced compact-size models from the emerging markets.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor started exporting the Etios to South Africa in April 2012 and plans to export 20,000 units of Etios and Liva annually. It is also looking at ramping up production of the Etios siblings at its second plant at Bidadi, from the current capacity of 1.2 lakh units to 2.1 lakh units by early 2013.