A major chunk of Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s sales in the last one year came from badge-engineered products. Thanks to Toyota’s global product-sharing agreement with Suzuki that began in India in 2019 with the launch of the Glanza, the former now retails four different rebadged products in the country– making up almost a half of its sales.
- Toyota's line-up includes four badge-engineered products
- Future offerings will include 7-seater Grand Vitara, Hyryder
- Maruti eVX electric SUV to also have Toyota-badged version
Between May 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024, Toyota sold 2,49,737 cars and SUVs in the Indian market, out of which 1,09,706 units were rebadged Maruti Suzuki products. The badge-engineered models include the Glanza (based on Baleno), Urban Cruiser Taisor (based on Fronx), Rumion (based on Ertiga) and Urban Cruiser Hyryder, which shares its underpinnings with the Grand Vitara. The partnership has also resulted in Maruti borrowing Toyota’s Innova Hycross (Invicto).
The Glanza was the top-selling Maruti-rebadged product, with 52,989 units sold in the last one year. The Urban Cruiser Hyryder is second with sales of 49,552 units. The Rumion recorded a sale of 7,165 units, but it was only launched in August last year. Do note that the overall sales number does not include the Urban Cruiser Taisor since it is still a relatively new product.
Toyota-Maruti badge-engineering: why is it done?
The auto industry is capital intensive where scale is really important. Badge-engineering is a great way of sharing costs and getting more volumes. The investment to make changes is minimal, and buyers have also shown a positive response to such products. Badge-engineering also means that the company borrowing the product, Toyota in this case, doesn’t have to spend any money on development.
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Before the Maruti-Toyota rebadging began, Toyota tried its hand at introducing affordable cars such as the Etios and Etios Liva, but they failed to cement their position in the market. Another aspect that makes this partnership a success is the fact that Toyota-badged models haven’t impacted sales of corresponding Maruti cars. This is also because of the arrangement between the two that ensures the owner of the product has the right to maximum volumes.
Toyota-Maruti badge-engineering: global product-sharing
The Toyota-Maruti Suzuki partnership isn't only limited to India. A host of Maruti Suzuki products are also exported to other markets and sold with the Toyota badge. The Maruti Baleno is sold as Toyota Starlet in South Africa, while Ciaz is retailed under the Toyota Belta moniker in a few African countries.
Suzuki is also borrowing a few Toyota products abroad, including the Corolla Touring Sports which is sold as Suzuki Swace estate, while the Suzuki A-Cross sold in Europe is essentially the rebadged Toyota RAV4.
Toyota-Maruti badge-engineering: price differences
As per the trend observed so far, Toyota-badged cars are priced at a slight premium over the donor Maruti products despite the same equipment list. For reference, the Glanza and Hyryder variants are about Rs 25,000 costlier than the Baleno and Grand Vitara, respectively. However, the price difference goes up to about Rs 70,000 between the Rumion and the corresponding Ertiga variants.
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Despite being based on the Innova Hycross, the Invicto actually undercuts it, thanks to some feature deletions which include the ottoman seats, JBL audio system and ADAS. Talking about the recently launched Taisor, while its non-turbo variants are priced at a slight premium over Fronx, the turbo-petrol variants of the two cars are priced identically, which means Toyota is bearing the brunt of the rebadging and not passing it on to the buyer.
Toyota-Maruti badge-engineering: future products
The strategic partnership will result in more badge-engineered products in the future, including three-row iterations of the Grand Vitara and Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, as well as Maruti eVX electric SUV and its Toyota-badged version.
Hormazd Sorabjee
Anurag Chaturvedi
