With rising fuel costs and customer preference for diesel cars, Japanese automaker Toyota is studying the feasibility of manufacturing the diesel variant of its latest sedan Etios.
“Well that (introducing diesel variants) is very much on the cards... first we will establish ourselves in the market with the Etios and Liva... then based upon demand we will look into it...”, the Toyota Kirloskar Motor Vice-President (Sales and Dealer Development Division), Mr Sailesh Shetty, said today.
The company currently retails premium sedan Altis, SUV Innova and premium SUV Fortuner in petrol as well as diesel variant in India.
According to industry experts, increased operating costs and frequent petrol prices have resulted in people preferring diesel variants. It may be noted that 60 per cent sales of Ford’s latest premium hatchback Figo come from the diesel variant.
During an informal interaction with PTI after unveiling the hatchback Liva here, Mr Shetty said the company would also consider manufacturing diesel engines for Liva once its engine plant is operational.
Currently Toyota Kirloskar Motors is ramping up its Bangalore facility for manufacturing Etios and engines for all models at an investment of around Rs 3,200 crore.
“Right now we are importing diesel engines from Japan. We are setting up the engine plant in Bangalore. Based on demand, we will produce diesel engines (for Liva and Etios models),” he said.
Stating that the company aimed to sell about 60,000 units of Liva and Etios this year, the Toyota Kirloskar Motor Deputy Managing Director (Commercial), Mr Shekar Viswanathan, said the waiting period of Etios has been considerably reduced.
“Now we can hand over the vehicle within 30 days. It (the waiting period) has been reduced,” he said.
Mr Viswanathan added that Toyota is also working on increasing the localisation level of Etios and Liva models from the present 70 per cent to 90 per cent.
Since the nationwide launch of Liva, the company has registered over 1,000 bookings.
Toyota Kirloskar Motors is a joint venture between Japanese automaker Toyota and Kirloskar Group. Toyota holds a majority stake of 89 per cent, while Kirloskar Group owns 11 per cent. The company currently employs 5,000 people across the country.
Besides Corolla Altis, Innova and Fortuner, Toyota also retails Camry, Prado, Land Cruiser and Prius as completely built units in India.