AR Rehman Brand Ambassador with Toyota Etios Hatchback "Liva"
Toyota has received high number of bookings for its new Etios Sedan; the company is considering to offer a unique way to tackle the customer who booked the sedan by giving them an option to shift to the company’s compact car Liva, which will be launched in the month of March 2011.
At the same time, the company is also considering to marginally increase the production of Etios to accommodate the rush.
According to sources, Toyota is worried that the seven to eight months’ waiting period for Etios may prompt customers to shift to rival brands. So, it is working on a plan to offer those with Etios bookings the option to go for the compact Liva, though details are still being worked out. It is not yet clear whether these people will get a priority in the delivery of the 1200cc petrol-engine Liva , which is likely to be priced around Rs 4 lakh.
The company is currently doing this to ensure that the customer will stay within the Toyota fold, while getting an option to cut down on their waiting periods. The company has already started delivering the Etios sedan earlier this month, and so far it has received bookings over 18500 units.
Toyota Kirloskar deputy MD (sales & marketing) Sandeep Singh said, “We are looking at various options, and a concrete plan is yet to be firmed up.”
Toyota plans to produce around 70000 units in the year 2011 between the Etios Sedan and Liva Hatch in 2011.
“Our manufacturing team is looking at this and a decision on enhancing production will be taken towards the end of February. However, if it happens, the increment in production may not be a major one. Whatever happens will be through improved efficiency and tweaking things here and there,” Singh said.
On the other side, the company is currently ramping up numbers at its plant and will start second-shift operation to meet the demand and the production will come to 200000 units annually though reaching this capacity will take time.
TKM targets to sell around 300000 to 350000 units by 2015.
Toyota Etios Pictures:
Toyota Etios Hatchback ‘Liva’ In April 2011Toyota Etios Sedan To Be Launched In December; Hatch Follows NextToyota Liva Hatch By April?Toyota Etios Will Be 90% Localised By 2013Toyota Etios Sedan gets 12,000 pre-sale ordersTags: toyota etios, toyota etios hatch, toyota etios sedan, toyota liva
