Toyota Cars

Brand Overview : One of the biggest automakers in the world, Toyota entered the Indian market officially towards the end of the 21st century with a joint venture with Kirloskar Group – 89 per cent held by Toyota Motor Corporation and 11 per cent held by Kirloskar Group. The Japanese carmaker has pioneered the concept of hybrid vehicles and comfortable and premium three-row people-mover MPVs in India.
Known for its range of reliable and long-lasting products, Toyota currently has two manufacturing facilities in Bidadi, Karnataka, and also has a strategic partnership with Maruti Suzuki for product and technology sharing in India.
 
Key Milestones In India : While Toyota officially entered India in 1997, the first car to roll out of its production facility in Karnataka was the Qualis MPV, which was launched in 2000. Soon after its launch, the Toyota Qualis captured 20 per cent of the MPV market share and scripted a successful debut for Toyota in India. The Japanese carmaker later on expanded its product lineup by launching the Camry in 2002, the Corolla in 2003 and the Land Cruiser Prado in 2004.  
While the Qualis was still having a successful run in the Indian car market, Toyota replaced it with the much more modern Innova in 2005, which was based on an all-new platform. The Innova scripted an even bigger success story for Toyota in India. Based on the same IMV platform, Toyota introduced the Fortuner SUV in 2009, which also became another blockbuster for it in India. In 2010, Toyota launched the Prius, one of the first hybrid vehicles to be officially launched in India.
While Toyota was having a runaway success in the premium segments, it decided to enter the mass market compact car segment with the Etios compact sedan in 2010. For this new project, Toyota expanded its production capacity by opening up a new second manufacturing plant and creating more jobs. Based on the same platform, two more models – Etios Liva hatchback and Etios Cross crossover hatchback were launched in the following years.
Toyota also entered the motorsport scene in India with the Etios Motor Racing Series in 2012, which was a one-make racing series with purpose-built Etios cars with inputs from the Toyota Racing Department (TRD). Toyota also entered the luxury segment by bringing its Lexus brand to India officially in 2017.
It was in 2017 when Toyota entered into a strategic partnership with Suzuki for the Indian market, when both companies agreed on model and powertrain sharing technologies, especially for hybrid and electric models. Under this partnership, Toyota has launched several rebadged Maruti Suzuki models between 2019 and 2024. It also launched the Yaris sedan in 2018, which found relatively less success in India.
 
Product Range And Segments : The supremely versatile product lineup of Toyota in India is currently divided into two categories – the mass-market cars shared with Maruti Suzuki and the premium lineup consisting of global products from Toyota. In the mass market category, Toyota is currently selling a host of rebadged Maruti Suzuki models like Glanza (a rebadged Baleno), Urban Cruiser (a rebadged Vitara Brezza), Urban Cruiser Hyryder (a rebadged Grand Vitara), Rumion (a rebadged Ertiga) and Urban Cruiser Taisor (a rebadged Fronx).
Toyota has managed to maintain undisputed leadership in the MPV category with the Innova Crysta and Innova Hycross and the full-size SUV segment with the Fortuner. Besides these products, Toyota also has niche products like the Hilux lifestyle pickup, Camry, Vellfire luxury MPV and Land Cruiser LC300 full-size luxury SUV.
 
Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) : If there is one aspect in which Toyota has built up a solid reputation, it is the reliability of its cars. Toyota cars and utility vehicles are known to last much longer than common human perceptions. Many customers of Toyota in India have clocked lakhs of kilometres in their cars without major problems and concerns, a testimony to the quality and reliability of the Toyota badge in India. Besides reliability, Toyota is also known to deliver a wholesome quality experience in after-sales service, with hassle-free service tasks and affordable service costs.
 
Technology And Innovation : Toyota was one of the pioneers of hybrid technology in passenger vehicles, with its Prius being the world’s first hybrid car. In India too, Toyota is advocating hybrid technology for passenger cars, while also developing all-electric vehicles simultaneously. Currently, Toyota has the most versatile lineup of hybrid cars in India, including Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Innova Hycross, Camry and Vellfire.
 
Sustainability And Future Goals : While Toyota is currently relying on hybrid technology, it is also developing a new series of fully electric cars. In India, Toyota is developing a range of electric vehicles in collaboration with Maruti Suzuki, with the first one of the partnership being a soon-to-be-launched midsize electric SUV.
 
Customer Perception And Competitors : Toyota has consistently ranked high in customer satisfaction and quality index, which is a key reason behind its massive success and customer trust – not only in India but in all other parts of the world too. With its range of compact cars like Glanza, Urban Cruiser Taisor, Rumion and Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Toyota is competing in the mass market segment with all other mainstream brands like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Citroen, Honda, Kia, Tata, Nissan, Renault, Volkswagen, Skoda and Mahindra.
While the MPVS – Innova Crysta and Innova Hycross – have no direct rivals, they do compete with the three-row SUVs from brands like Mahindra, MG, Tata and Jeep. The Toyota Hilux has the Isuzu D-Max V-Cross as the only competitor, while the Camry sedan takes on the likes of affordable entry-level sedans from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The range-topping luxury models – Vellfire and Land Cruiser LC300 – also compete with premium luxury full-size SUVs from German brands and Land Rover.
 
Closing Thoughts : While Toyota has followed a conservative approach to the Indian market by not bringing many of its popular global models to India, it still has found massive success with all of its products in the country, barring a couple of exceptions. With a focused approach to hybrid technology and promising developments towards electric mobility, Toyota has a sure-footed plan of action.