Toyota to introduce Etios Liva hatchback on June 27

The small car segment is one of the fiercely competitive segments in Indian automobile industry now with several global major automobile players looking to grab the market share which is dominated by country’s leading player Maruti Suzuki India. Off late there is a huge competition between Maruti’s Swift, Volkswagen’s Polo, Nissan’s Micra and Ford’s Figo and Chevrolet Beat in that segment.

Now it has been reported that the world’s largest automobile company Toyota may trigger a price war in the hatchback segment when it launches its first small car in India on June 27. According to a report in The Economic Times, the all new Toyota Liva is expected to start at just over Rs 4 lakh and the top-end version, complete with multiple airbags and anti-lock braking system, will be priced around Rs 5.5-6 lakh. It was mentioned that this will make the 1.2-litre car from Toyota cheaper than most hatchbacks, the fastest-growing segment in the 2.5-million Indian passenger car market, and force rivals to consider price cuts. The prices of hatchbacks such as market leader Maruti Swift, Hyundai i20, Volkswagen Polo, Nissan Micra, Skoda Fabia and Fiat Punto start from Rs 4.3 lakh and go over Rs 8 lakh for different variants.

According to experts, price reductions will happen as the Indian market gets crowded. Honda Siel Cars on Monday signaled a price war in the sedan segment by cutting the prices of its flagship City by up to Rs 66,000 to take on the challenge from recently launched Hyundai Verna and new segment leader Volkswagen Vento. Honda's City lost its leadership in the mid-size cars segment to Vento. Honda too plans to launch its small car, Honda Brio, this year and the company will be under pressure to price it competitively vis-a-vis Toyota Etios Liva. Honda is also expected to cut the prices of its Jazz hatchback, which is priced much higher than competing models, to make it more attractive for Indian customers. Other companies may follow a similar route. The report quoted Toyota Kirloskar Motor Deputy MD (Marketing) Sandeep Singh as saying "We will launch the car at the most competitive price and like its sedan sibling Etios. It's an all-new car, offering huge value for money to Indian customers."