Toyota launched the Taisor, its version of the Maruti Suzuki Fronx, with three engine options: a CNG, petrol and a turbo gasoline direct injection (GDi) petrol engine. Toyota has offered the turbo-petrol engine despite Maruti acknowledging earlier this year that this powertrain accounted for only 7 percent of total Fronx sales.
Toyota, however, believes the GDi version has potential with the brand. Speaking to Autocar India at the sidelines of the launch, Sabari Manohar, group head, customer service at Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “More than getting into specifics, I can say we believe the 1.0-litre turbo will see the majority of sales.”
This would be a marked shift from what Maruti Suzuki is seeing with the Fronx, however, Manohar believes that customers’ perception and wants from the Toyota brand are more towards performance and strong engines. “You look at the Land Cruiser and the Fortuner, it has to be Turbo, it has to be performance. Of course, they [customers] would want mileage with this being an entry segment, but for Toyota customers performance will still be an important criterion.”
Taisor turbo price compared to its NA engine
Beyond brand image and performance preferences, what will push customers towards the GDi version of the Taisor is the lopsided pricing Toyota has adopted vis a vis the Fronx. With the GDi engine, both the Taisor and Fronx have identical pricing. However, the NA engine costs Rs 22,000-25,000 more than the Fronx. Thus, with a narrower price gap between the NA and GDi Taisor, buyers could be nudged towards the GDi.
If this indeed proves to be the case and does result in sales, it will come as a relief to Maruti Suzuki as they’re yet to see significant sales despite localising and producing this engine here. The engine is currently only available in the Fronx, but it was imported earlier and briefly offered on the Baleno RS; that didn’t fare well either. Thus, it will be interesting to see if Toyota does manage an increase in sales of the turbo version.
Hormazd Sorabjee
Anurag Chaturvedi
