[jigar1791@gmail]

Originally Posted by SShandilya

I just hope that Indian customers punishes Toyota for this new ridiculous strategy.
I mean they have pushed it to a point where they aren’t even pretending to woo the Indian customer.
Why are they not bringing their international models is beyond me ! They’ve tasted success in SUVs and MUVs then why not be excited to bring their Crossovers to Indian customer base.

Laziness of TKM's Top Management, perhaps?

Toyota India seems satisfied in milking it's cash cows - Innova and Fortuner, as both these cars command command huge profit margins. They know for a fact that these two star performers are invincible (atleast at this moment), and periodic upgrades/facelifts will keep the Indian customer happy!

With 0/minimum investments, Toyota seems happy selling the rebadged Baleno/Brezza (both of these - Glanza and Urban Cruiser bring in additional 5000 sales count), thereby increasing it's turnover and profits as well.

Maybe, Etios' and Liva's failure have compelled Toyota to not experiment much with mass market segments, and stick your neck to what's best - the MUV and SUV!

The recent collaboration with Maruti means they can leverage the expertise of MSIL's small car competency and utilise/strengthen(?) Toyota's own network to venture into Tier-2/3 cities as well. Though MSIL will have an established presence in small towns, Toyota will still be happy selling rebadged Maruti cars with a T-badge, enough to bring in sales, additional numbers wont matter as long as sales come in

Smart and a calculated move, IMO!

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by LaRoca

Don't blame them. Blame them Indian Government and its ridiculous automotive taxation policies.

Just look at Toyota North America website and see the mouth watering models they have for sale there. Its not that they can't bring it in India but will have to undergo some slicing and dicing to 'fit' into Indian Government rules. 😆

Oh. So is Toyota completely blameless? Or is the taxation is not applicable for other entrants like KIA and MG both of whom seem to be doing well?

Toyota have no one to blame for themselves for this stupid strategy. If this succeed, then it will set a wrong precedent for others.

Who knows, tomorrow we may even see a rebadged Ciaz named the Honda City and the Nissan Sunny

[ZenMaster]

Who ever comes up with these weird names should be fired or sent to a different department.

The Urban Cruiser while alright was very unimaginative.
The Glanza sound absurd and sounds like something one will hear in a Biology class
The Belta sounds plain weird.

Atleast Suzuki names all their products well. Even their crappiest car, the Spresso has a fun sounding name.
The only one I don't agree with is the "Brezza" name

The worst part is that these same (badge engineered) cars are sold under other name abroad. Ex: The Glanza is called the Starlet(sounds good) in S.A.

[iamahunter]

Looks like "Belta" does have some meaning.

Belta is the Geordie(Geordie - Tyneside area of North East England) form of belter, which has been used to mean “impressive” or “exceptional” since the late 19th century. It comes from belt, meaning “a heavy blow or punch”, presumably in the sense of something literally being “strikingly” brilliant.

However, What I do not understand is why this name in India, where it's meaning can be taken for something else.

In the world where all are concentrating on targeting customers with lucrative stuff like names and ads, here comes Toyota - "Let's name a car on a place which is related to the country which ruled India!"

I wonder what's their inspiration!?

[Phukan23]

Ciaz is itself dated. Suzuki should have launched next generation Ciaz and then let Toyota rebadge it. Atleast it would have been an all new car.

[SA-G13B]

Just trying to understand here, body is the same, interior is the same, even the engine is Suzuki! Why would someone go for this car and pay the premium over Suzuki (albiet a small premium) when there is virtually no difference? Just sticking the Toyota badge increases the reliability?

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by SA-G13B

Just trying to understand here, body is the same, interior is the same, even the engine is Suzuki! Why would someone go for this car and pay the premium over Suzuki (albiet a small premium) when there is virtually no difference? Just sticking the Toyota badge increases the reliability?

For extra few thousands, you get 1 year additional warranty and Toyota service. Not that Suzuki service is bad, but Toyota service is more consistent across dealers and cities.

[LaRoca]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

Oh. So is Toyota completely blameless? Or is the taxation is not applicable for other entrants like KIA and MG both of whom seem to be doing well?

Toyota have no one to blame for themselves for this stupid strategy. If this succeed, then it will set a wrong precedent for others.

Who knows, tomorrow we may even see a rebadged Ciaz named the Honda City and the Nissan Sunny

The future for Ford in India looked bright back in 2013 with the Ecosport. The future for GM looked very bright with the launch of Cruze back in 2010.

You cannot predict Kia and MG's future with what they have now.
Only time will tell if they were a 'one hit wonder' or not.

Coming to the taxation part, the Kia looked fresh to the Indian buyer who had limited options in the segment then. That coupled with the Kia's seemingly good looks made it sort of a success, though that cant be said now if you analyze the sales chart. The Indian buyer will always fall for two things...

1) Good Looks
2) Value proposition

[clementw]

Originally Posted by kpkeerthi

Seems the Maruyota with a transplanted face will be likely called as Belta.

Source: https://bit.ly/3tV37LC

Between Maruyota and Belta, think Belta is the uglier option.

Admire the policy of Toyota, they will focus on milking the cash cows, especially the Innova with more updates and increased pricing, while keeping the show rooms occupied with the Maruyota offerings.

[VWAllstar]

Looks like not only the car but the name was also 'inspired' from variants of Nexa. Alpha, BeLta & Delta! Looks like Yaris mated with Ciaz to give birth to Belta. Hope it takes less than 9 months for the launch.

[SPARKled]

Isn''t this a bit too late to the party? All the main competitors have a new generation just around the corner (VW group) or already have a newer generation on the road (Honda) while Toyota is trying to launch and end of its life cycle product as a fresh new car.

[armaan_singh]

This is an excellent strategy by Toyota.
You see the Ciaz will be due for a face-lift next year, and a new shape will be introduced, but the Belta will be based on the current generation Ciaz thus differentiating the two atleast to the customers who would be buying the Belta. The current Ciaz was already a good product and the Toyota badge will only push it further up. If anything I would have preferred a different name, this doesn't really have a ring to it.

[Tucker48]

Toyota is so low on confidence that they are not even launching Corolla cross in India which can outcompete Creta/seltos/harrier/hector(IMO) even with a little higher pricing. Right now they are diluting their brand power with these steps. It's fine if they borrow small cars from Suzuki but anything above 4m should be Toyota's exclusive domain. Toyota India's management should become more aggressive. Yes the future is EVs and likes but don't forget about present which is equally important. In fact, Toyota should bring every crossover/SUV which they can price in India in the 20-35L OTR price bracket.

[Fiestaboy]

In few years, Indian Govt is going to bring the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) targets, which will drive stringent Fuel Economy targets.

This is purely based on vehicle segment, Powertrain & weight etc. & all fleets of an OEM have to meet the target or might be asked to pay fine.
They can either show individual nameplate meeting the norms or show compliance for their total fleet. EV's have higher credit & hence any OE's doing good number of EV's can use it to pass this benefit to other ICE vehicle lines.

In that scenario, Toyota will suffer huge because of their heavy vehicles dominant fleet & lesser FE values offered.
Hence, they are collaborating with Suzuki who have bigger fleet of small vehicles, which has higher Fuel Economy. Now with the rebadging, Toyota will be able to show their FE credit offset from smaller vehicles (Glanza, Urban Cruiser) to their Innova & Fortuner.

Alternatively Suzuki is strong in A & B segments & not in U segments. Hence they will/might get SUV re-badging of Innova & Toyota in future as a return of favour or know-how of their EV technology.

[QuentinTino]

Belta. Seriously? How could anyone come up with such a horrible name? Looks like they took a Ciaz Delta variant and didn’t even bother to change the complete name