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-   -   The Toyota Yaris. EDIT: Prices start at Rs. 8.75 lakh (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/195210-toyota-yaris-edit-prices-start-rs-8-75-lakh-6.html)

Nailed it. Honda and Hyundai have fantastic offerings (dare i say better) in this segment. Toyota cannot be serious if it thinks its going to get 50% plus market share ! No way is that happening. Innova and Fortuner do exist in unique segments where the other majors don't have comparable offerings.

I think Ciaz will fade out slowly as market shifts towards petrol. City is due for new model late next year. Yaris is anyways not exciting be it interiors or even exteriors. I still firmly believe Honda City with its iVtec engine will remain a king until electric vehicles become the norm on Indian roads

Yaris is stepping into a competitive segment, it may not be as fierce as small car segment, but still a remarkably competitive one.
Ciaz engines are barely adequate but known to be efficient for average motoring, with car also having a spacious rear seat and an impressive size. City needs no introduction as the car even after two decades has a premium image for its class, something Yaris wont be able to take away quickly I guess. Verna has improved in its latest avatar, a very pleasant surprise was the manner in which Verna's biggest weakness (Ride and Handling) got addressed by Hyundai. Verna also feels better built than City/Ciaz, has a smooth petrol and segment best diesel, both power-plants available with convenience of automatic transmission. On safety front, City and Verna fare well IMO.

Where will Yaris slot in ? Is there anything in Yaris that stands out amidst rivals ? Space, efficiency, value for money package are crowns rightfully in hands of current player/s. After initial excitement of finally having this car in India subdues, logic starts to take precedence. Yaris probably will be consistent and score more than reasonably well in all parameters without excelling at any one and hence Toyota has kitted it out well it seems. Still, this boils down to pricing. Toyota has already felt the heat with Etios twins. Hope they dont burn their fingers again with ridiculous price tag. IMHO, pricing near to or at par with City will be blunder, slot it below City/Verna and grab volumes from Ciaz and City/Verna. I am not sure if this news is true, but if it is, Vios may not have a diesel variant. I doubt if Yaris could give City a tough time. At best, if priced well, Ciaz could see a dent in sales as for a bit more amount, the badge shifts from Maruti Suzuki to Toyota.

I think eventually Yaris will gobble up 40% of petrol market share in C2 sedan segment. I read somewhere that if they are looking to sell around 2000 units of Yaris and anything above that is a bonus for Toyota. 2000 Units should be around 30% of the C2 sedan segment in petrol and I think they will easily achieve this number.

The general consensus seems to be that the Yaris has its work cut out against its rivals. But I feel that if Toyota play their cards right, they have a potential success.

The City-Verna-Ciaz trio is a formidable one, but each one of them has a serious shortcoming. The Verna is cramped, the Ciaz underpowered and the City too expensive. The Yaris seems to be a jack of all trades and Toyota has immense brand equity. In terms of sales too, Ciaz sales have slowed down a bit, the Verna is in its initial euphoric phase and the City isn't invincible anymore.

I, for one hope to see it succeed in the market and put some pressure on Honda and Hyundai. :)

The powertrain is imported from Indonesia & their targeted volume is 1.5k ~ 2.0k / month. Hence I would not be surprised if their pricing is higher than even the City.

Lot of discussion on how 8 to 16 lakh sedan category will span out with launch of Yaris. My two cents -

1. Ciaz - Will continue to be the cheapest offering all features (except those related to Safety). With good rear seat space and Maruti's known after sales service, it will manage to stick to its volumes after launch of facelift.

2. Vento / Rapid - Will continue with their current volumes.

3. Verna - Their petrol variants will see a slow death. Only reason for people to buy Verna would be their refined diesel engines. Verna along with City will see decline in volumes.

4. City - They have their task cut out. Honda is giving good fight to Vios/Yaris in South East Asian markets. But in those markets, Honda comes with all safety features like VSA and HSA. Their task is cut out with the next generation release - match Yaris in Safety and Quality to stay relevant. Having the sweet iVtec alone is not going to help counter Yaris.

5. Toyota - People buying City ZX variant will be the target for maximizing their margin and profit. They will offer a car which is niggle free, loaded with safety features and having decent rear seat space. Their brand image along with lower maintenance cost (lower TCO) will pull lot of people away from City.

What about Pricing? Yaris top variant along with its Safety features and Brand image, in my opinion, will be priced at least 50k to 75K higher than City ZX. Will there be takers? Of course, and the cost of ownership over 5 to 6 years will easily compensate for the extra price people have to pay initially.

Toyota Yaris continues its road test , spied in Bangalore.




Link

Had gone to a Toyota dealer to enquire about the Yaris launch. I was told it is expected to be launched around end of April with deliveries to begin around June. The base model price itself, as informed by the Toyota guy is estimated to be around 13 big ones since the bottom variant might come feature laden including the 7 airbags.

Maruti would be celebrating such price and features by Toyota, as this would ensure Maruti keeps selling it's mediocre repainted (minor change??) Ciaz for as long as it wants because who needs safe cars in India. :Frustrati

If this is the approach and attitude of Maruti then they will have themselves bracketed or slotted again. Ciaz was their attempt to break out of the small car mould and they will be walking into a similar trap again.

More and more people are getting safety conscious and the auto makers have to cater to that.

It is best to say no to such automakers if they do not provide us enough safety features. Bikes without ABS or Cars without enough AirBags/ all Disk Brakes and other safety mechanisms.

Regards
Bharath

I really doubt it! During the launch Toyota would have made a buzz around the fact that 7 airbags are standard, which they did not. Secondly, Toyota will target to rival the Honda City at some level, meaning they would have variants that compete with the the most popular variants in the City, like the V ( around 11-12 Lakhs) and V CVT ( 14 Lakhs).

Keeping the base variant at 13 L ( on road ) would mean ceding ground to the City, New Verna and the Ciaz from day one.

Thanks for the update ! I would take the dealer's report with a pinch of salt.
Few Things to note regarding the Yaris launch is
1. Toyota is already late to this segment , they had been complaining for half a decade that they cannot match the price for this segment. Now that they have planned to enter the market I am sure they have done their homework.

2. Toyota will be aware regarding the shrinking size of the segment thanks to new found love for the Compact SUV segment .

Anything above 3-5% above City pricing , I think Toyota should forgot decent volumes . Anything closer to City pricing /20k-30k over City pricing is what Toyota should target .

Abroad (and perhaps in India too) 'Used Car Salesman' is virtually a general term used for any extremely sleazy and untrustworthy person. Unfortunately in India the same applies to New Car Salespersons as well.

The guy was just trying to dissuade you from waiting for the Yaris and probably wanted you to buy something already available with him, plain and simple.

Looks like the Yaris official site for India is up. https://www.toyotabharat.com/showroom/yaris/

It does not have all details of variant-wise features, but still has decent amount of information for first timer. Some 1st in segment features like 7 airbags, TPMS, power driver seat controls, TFT MID etc are highlighted.