Team-BHP - Toyota's plans for India

When a company like Toyota starts planning seriously for any market, you can be sure they are going to creep in sleathily and before you know it, they wouldl have captured a huge market share. The good news for auto companies is that Toyota's India strategy doesn't kick in in full mode till 2010.

This article outlines Toyota's plans for the BRIC markets and it just gives me the feeling that the Japanese giant is a little confused with their India strategy. Toyota knows that the only way to expand is to have a hatcback and that can be achieved working to-gether with Daihatsu but Daihatsu wants to establish itself as a separate brand in the Indian scene.

Quote:

Toyota also needs to figure out where consumer demand is headed before taking the plunge, Okabe said. Suzuki and others were shifting upmarket to bigger models within the compact segment.

Sounds like Toyota isn't sure where the market for hatcbacks is going. My guess is that it's pretty clear. India is moving in the same direction as Europe. Wagon R, Santro and Alto are going to be entry level hatches while the main demand around 2010 will be in the Swift, Getz, Palio, Grande Punto(?) segment. Indian cities are getting more crowded, drivers are getting worse day by day. My guess is that people are going to see more and more value in big hatchbacks. The fact that they are almost as big as sedans also helps. Maybe we may even have the mighty Golf in our markets by 2010. I'd say Toyota needs to plan a car in this segment if it wants to plan for a 2010 'takeover' of the Indian market.

But the most disappointing statement was :

Quote:

Okabe said it would be at least two or three years before India had its third car to follow the locally produced Corolla sedan and Innova minivan.

Toyota and Honda have been talking of launching a small car for sometime now...however nothing concrete is being spelled out..

if they continue to delay their small car, the small car market might get saturated and their plan might be a failure.

Also, other manufacturers have economies of scale/localisation advtgs on their side already and may make it impossible for these guys to compete on price front, which is a major factor in the B segment.

Superb write-up, Amit. Here is a thread I had opened up WRT Toyotas attack on the Indian market. Traditionally, Toyota have been slow after entering a new market. But they build, and they build strong. India is no different.

A Daihatsu hatch will not sell the same way as a Toyota hatch will...even if it is the absolute car. I am dead sure that the wiser will prevail, and you will see a Toyota hatch sooner rather than later.

GTO