[NiInJa]

I just read in today's Times of India that Toyota has suspended investments in India, surprisingly the same news is not on their website.

If this is true, I wonder what they are going to do with the Vios, its a nice car with the right looks and features for Indian market.

[RavenAvi]

Car and Driver Brasil have posted renderings of the Toyota Etios C sedan (codename), which is expected to challenge the might of the Honda City and the Maruti-Suzuki Ciaz in the Indian market in the near future.

The Etios C sedan borrows plenty of styling cues from the Vios sedan sold worldwide, and it will be based on the Etios platform, which is heavily localised in emerging markets such as India and Brazil.

Since Toyota has put it's fresh investments in India on hold, localisation of the Toyota B platform which underpins the Vios seems like a distant reality now, and the Etios C sedan is expected to be launched in India in it's stead.

[motorworks]

Another "me too" c segment car that will do what the city or the Ciaz does and won't offer anything substantially different! I'm sure this is at least another one year away and doesn't excite me at all! Unless it comes with some turbo petrol or a dual clutch box.

[vivekgk]

If Toyota doesn't want to invest in India, it's their loss, not India's.

That said, Toyota is seriously missing out in the 10L segment. No one in their sane mind would buy the top end version of the current Etios, which is the worst equipped and least exciting car in that price range, unless it's for taxi use, or some seriously heavy usage patterns. Meanwhile, the Ciaz, City, and the compact SUVs are having a great run.

Since this is a Toyota, all they'd have to do is make it in India as it is and sell it with the same engines from the Etios, and it would still sell in great numbers, and grab a good share of the Ciaz and City's pie. And I'm betting that's what they're gonna do once they come back to their senses about the Indian market. I'm not holding my breath for VVT petrols or 100PS diesels from this car.

[zwift1819]

The Toyota hatchback and the Etios sedan are relatively doing well with the taxi segment. Off late I feel that the taxi segment has switched over to Etios sedan and the dzire taxi. As vivekgk has said the Etios is the least exciting car in that category. Wonder how Toyota could launch such a car in India. Perhaps they thought Indians would close their eyes and buy any Toyota product! The Vios on the other hand seems to be a capable car at least in its looks.

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by zwift1819

As vivekgk has said the Etios is the least exciting car in that category. Wonder how Toyota could launch such a car in India. Perhaps they thought Indians would close their eyes and buy any Toyota product!

On the other hand they probably didnt expect that consumers would close eyes and buy products. You do need to be blinded by looks to overlook a car that is rated to be safe, is fun to drive, is very spacious and for all the talk of cheap quality - is the most reliable in its segment.

And how is it not exciting? - Please drive the petrol Etios. Yes better drivers cars are around, but you can't dismiss it as a car in which you can't have fun driving.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

You do need to be blinded by looks to overlook a car that is rated to be safe,

This rating came too late in its life cycle, and probably wouldn't have penetrated into the mass market also.

General perception however has already been established since launch that it has very bad build quality. Word of mouth publicity plays a big role still, in the Indian market.

[RavenAvi]

Once bitten, twice shy.

I don't think Toyota will repeat the mistakes it committed with the Etios, with the Etios C. Since the underpinnings will be shared with the former, it will carry over the suspension, chassis and the mechanical bits from the Etios, which in itself is pretty robust, reliable and proven.

The top-hat, body and features will be borrowed from the Vios, and since the Vios has been in India for quite some time, we can look forward to a "generous helping" of the Vios inside the Etios C.

Engine options - the petrol is quite good and can take on the competition easily (I have always felt that the Etios petrol belonged to a segment above the C1). As for the diesel, it's the only sore point. But considering the bans and the diesel-purchase aversion the average car-buying Indian customer is currently going through, I don't think they will be changing the 1.4L oil burner option for this sedan anytime soon. Plus, if the Corolla Altis doesn't get it, pretty sure that the Etios C won't, either.

Let's hope that we get an end-product closer to the Vios itself, and which is built on the Etios's strengths. There is still enough space for a City/Ciaz challenger, and Toyota's reliability combined with a good, all-round VFM package might just be the trump card Toyota could play in the C2-segment.

If the Ciaz can beat the City with a couple of very lackluster engine options merely on the basis of it's strengths, there's no reason why the Etios C won't do well in this segment either.

Note to Toyota - don't badge it as an "Etios" sibling. Be afraid, be very afraid, before you indulge in such foolishness. How about naming it umm... "Yaris"?

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

The Etios C sedan borrows plenty of styling cues from the Vios sedan sold worldwide, and it will be based on the Etios platform, which is heavily localised in emerging markets such as India and Brazil.

I don't get this point at all. If they want to bring the Vios, let them bring the same car which is sold in the SE Asian markets. Why develop a heavily modified Etios?

I've heard many good things about the Vios and it's the segment leader in most markets. I hope this news is wrong/fake.

Knowing Toyota, I don't think they'll take a half-hearted approach. It's not the case that Vios is too technologically advanced for our market.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by vivekgk

If Toyota doesn't want to invest in India, it's their loss, not India's.

That said, Toyota is seriously missing out in the 10L segment. No one in their sane mind would buy the top end version of the current Etios, which is the worst equipped and least exciting car in that price range, unless it's for taxi use, or some seriously heavy usage patterns. Meanwhile, the Ciaz, City, and the compact SUVs are having a great run.

I think that having Toyota as a very serious player in Rs. 10 lakh segment will only help consumers thanks to increased competition. The current Etios stands nowhere when it comes to quality quotient against Ciaz/City, but whats bewildering is Toyota's stringent decision not to come up with Vios even after Etios fiasco. Toyota's entry into Rs. 10 lakh segment is now made even more difficult with value proposition (relative, ofcourse) of Ciaz. To undercut Ciaz's price will be next to impossible, and City is in a class of its own boasting of a brand equity that is competition's envy. Toyota has lost a step in below Rs. 12 lakh segment and they will need serious efforts to crack it. And I think as long as they are making profit out of Innova and Fortuner, they wont be bothered about volume segment now. Further to that, the recent NGT drama has Toyota lost confidence which had consequence of halted investments. Expectation of Vios is too much to ask from Toyota for the moment atleast. Toyota's first focus must be new Fortuner and facelifted Corolla Altis, atleast they are doing good in respective segments.

Already a thread was there on Vios dating back to July 2014. Its 2 years now and if Toyota were serious about Vios touching the Indian showroom floors, it would have been accomplished IMO.

[nik_kapur]

Its strange that Toyota hasn't been serious about this segment when they have a Vios in their portfolio. The Vios would have been serious competition for the City and Ciaz. The new Etios based Vios could still be a volume car in India and i guess its better late than never. Disappointing though that they won't bring us the actual Vios and offer us only a Reskinned Etios ! If Honda and Hyundai can offer their latest generation cars, so can Toyota.
An all new Vios is due worldwide in 2017-2018. Maybe Toyota could consider bringing that to India by 2020. (this is the actual Vios and not the reskinned one we are getting)

[vivekgk]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

On the other hand they probably didnt expect that consumers would close eyes and buy products. You do need to be blinded by looks to overlook a car that is rated to be safe, is fun to drive, is very spacious and for all the talk of cheap quality - is the most reliable in its segment.

And how is it not exciting? - Please drive the petrol Etios. Yes better drivers cars are around, but you can't dismiss it as a car in which you can't have fun driving.

I admit, I haven't driven the Petrol Etios, but the point is, I've never really wanted to. It's not a car that makes me want to drive it, at all. Also, it's not a car that I want to be seen driving. You don't look at an Etios and wonder what it's like to drive. In fact, it's not even a car that I'd want to be driven in, as a personal vehicle. It's not a car that tells people you've arrived, it tells people that you've arrived in a taxi.

Which is exactly why Toyota isn't even really bothered about upgrading the Indian Etios to even the export spec. Below is a picture of the Brazilian Etios's interiors.

Brazil is an important market for Toyota, and they are willing to sell a car there that is more than a reliable A to B people carrier. In India however, they can get away with selling an outdated and underequipped vehicle to customers who think it's their luck that Toyota deigned to grace our nation with it's products!

I hope they do justice to the Indian market with their next offering.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by vivekgk

I admit, I haven't driven the Petrol Etios, but the point is, I've never really wanted to. It's not a car that makes me want to drive it, at all. Also, it's not a car that I want to be seen driving. You don't look at an Etios and wonder what it's like to drive. In fact, it's not even a car that I'd want to be driven in, as a personal vehicle. It's not a car that tells people you've arrived, it tells people that you've arrived in a taxi.

OT: I haven't gone through the entire discussion but I find those to be big words coming from a guy with an Indigo as his display picture anyway, having driven the 1.5 Etios Liva (haven't driven the sedan), I can tell you that it is an absolute delight. Very well balanced car, extremely good motor, good response, decent stability, and accurate steering if not a bit lacking in feel. My praise should not be mistaken as support for the step-motherly treatment Toyota gives us Indians with half baked products that would not stand a chance globally.

[vivekgk]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

OT: I haven't gone through the entire discussion but I find those to be big words coming from a guy with an Indigo as his display picture

Well, that would put me in the best place to offer commentary on this, having had personal experience in driving around a taxi for 70000 kms, wouldn't it? The Indigo was my second car and all I had to compare to was our old 800. At the time, the Indigo was an outdated design, same as the Etios is now.

The Indigo is sold, btw. I'm looking for a new car now, and the Etios was one of the early cars I looked at. But the short test drive of the diesel model was enough to convince me that it was just barely a step up from the Indigo as far as interiors were concerned. All the time, I was thinking, how is this car worth 10 lacs?

While the Etios certainly does have its strengths, the game has moved forward. The personal buyer now expects more than just a solid car with all the basics for their money, and it is up to Toyota to catch up. Toyota is yet to prove that it can make a well equipped car under 15 lacs. I hope they do.

[csnanjappa]

Got a message from a concrete source that Vios plan have been shelved , Toyota seems to be concentrating on Etios facelift for festive launch.