Toyota to launch facelifted innova soon

The entire toyota IMV platform[fortuner,hilux and innova] is all set to undergo a facelift.Actually the fortuner and hilux facelift is now no longer a secret and toyota itself has revealed plans for the facelift on its website if not actually displayed the actual vehicle.


However what interests me most is the impeding facelift for the innova as this is the only vehicle which is available here in India.The IMV platform means that toyota would be forced to give us the new facelifted model as soon as it is available elsewhere.

Thanks to paultan we have spy pictures of the facelifted innova.The changes don't seem very drastic from the pictures however can fully comment once I come across the vehicle myself.Toyota have changed the front grill and also the headlamps and the taillamps.Hopefully for the Indian market we get the same lamps nlike the predecessor in which the taillamps differed slightly.

The toyota NVX we were all talkng about may be this facelifted innova afer all.Expect this new innova before the end of the year[2008].

With the Mahindra ingenio and the Tata Xover just round the coner this facelift is just at the right time.

[Source:Paultan.org]

Ps:The first picture compares the old and the new innova.

Toyota assembles 2 year old expired engines on Innovas

So much for Toyota's ever documented management policies.Even Toyota makes mistakes and how.

Toyota exported 96 engines[meant for the innova] from indonesia for its operations in Vietnam but after doing so just forget about it.So much so nobody even bothered to pick up the consignment from the port for two whole years.Suddenly one fine day they get a dream and realise that somebody had sent them a consignment two years back.

What do they do destroy the old engines.Nope you are mistaken.Toyota vietnam decides to use all but one of the engines.This inspite of a report from the exporters that the maximum period of storage should not be more than 90 days.

However Toyota vietnam was obviously more concerned about saving costs and decided to use the engines anyway bringing out their own reasoning that these engines could last for two years in storage.Never mind these engines were exposed to the sultry conditions of the port.

Apparently to get around this mess.These engines were assembled only for the lower varians of the innova[meant for taxi use].

And how are Toyota planning to compensate owners affected an exchange scheme for owners or paying them 10% of their cars value.Toyota are not ready to recall the affected cars.

The vietnam transport asociation is up in arms against Toyota and says Toyota is taking advantage that it is vietnam and not USA or Europe we are talking about .

[source:vietnamnet]

Toyota to launch CNG versions of the Corolla and Innova

In an interesting move Toyota are planning to launch CNG versions of the innova and corolla in areas where CNG would be available[Mumbai,Delhi initially].

This move is supposedly aimed at attracting the fleet owners and tourist operators.This may just be the final push toyota is looking at for the corolla sales before it introduces the newer generation model.What this also means is that the newer generation corolla has a chance of getting a diesel engine as well since Toyota now have realised petrol only will not sell.If there is any market where the corolla has performed disastrously it is India.

The saving grace for Toyota in India so far has been the utility vehicle segment first with the qualis and now the innova,toyota has been able to attract the taxi segment which has ensured good sales.Toyota seem fairly comfortable with the Taxi tag.However with more competition sales could take a hit and toyota knows that.Everybody however seems to be in the mood to know what the new utility vehicle that toyota is supposedly going to launch by the year end is before making a buying decision.

Is toyota playing the CNG card in anticipation of a shotage of diesel and petrol sales and thus an increased demand for CNG run vehicles I am not sure.

Minda auto gas is supposedly supplying the kits.

[source:merinews]

Would you buy the Hyundai i800?

Toyota have been the pioneers of the luxury MPV concept in India and have been able to sell us what is essentially a luxury minivan something no manufacturer has been able to do successfully.Now that we are used to this concept would be accept something like the Hyundai i800 which is a true blue van.

The i800 is aimed at the premium segment and retails for about Rs.15lakhs in the UK but hyundai have talked about introducing a cheaper version and with a made in India tag we could have a vehicle which could be priced closer to the Toyota innova.

It comes with a 2.5L crdi engine with FE similar to the innova but as it stands the power is way ahead of the innova offering 170bhp and 392Nm of torque.There is more than adequate space for eight and luggage.
Exterior dimensions are more bus like and don't expect to zip through traffic.Also no matter how hard Hyundai have tried people just are not ready to accept hyundai as a premium brand so anything priced above the Toyota innova would be hard to sell.The biggest drawback however could be its looks ,we like our utility vehicles to be as van like as possible in everything except looks.

[image source:motoring.co.za]

Toyota's new UV by end of the year

The Toyota Avanza


There are unconfirmed reports about a new Utility vehicle code named NVX being launched in India by the end of the year[2008].Remember it is around the same time Toyota would face competition from the Mahindra ingenio and the Tata MPV.

Toyota being Toyota have denied the development and so more details about the vehicle is unknown.

The new vehicle is going to be based on the innova[IMV] platform.Their is a good possibility the vehicle could be the avanza given that the avanza is a much cheaper offering.The avanza is a smaller vehicle than the innova and is a seven seater.I have a feeling it could be the avanza since a toyota dealer had informed me of a qualis replacement just a few months back and infact toyota may even consider the possibility of stopping production of the present innova .

Another possibility ofcourse is an all new innova.

However since the fortuner too is based on the innova platform don't rule out the possibility of the fortuner launch either.

Since everything is so unclear my suggestion is if you are looking for a vehicle in the UV segment,please wait till the end of the year or atleast till diwali[2008].

[Image source:bucksdigger.com]

My wish,how about a seven seater Dahatsu terios/Toyota rush

Update:
The latest is that Toyota plan to launch the fortuner only by 2009[between june-september to be precise],pricing expected within the range of Rs.16-20 lakhs.

Roewe's new MPV

Update:
There seems to be a mixup as far as the manufacturer is concerned.Unlike originally reported this MPV is from Roewe and not GM.So much for the new Tavera dreams.

When it rains it pours,I had not even finished posting about the possibility of Tata and Mahindra competing with Toyota and we have another competitor in the foray and this time its GM.

The spy photographers have some documents from GM which indicate that this would be sold as a Chevrolet MPV in markets across the world and that includes the US.The R&D work for this vehicle has been done in Korea by GMDAT.

This is supposedly a global mass market MPV which can seat seven passengers built on GM's global delta platform. And that is precisely why I feel there is a possibility that this MPV could make it to the Indian markets too as a replacement for the Tavera possibly since the Tavera looks way too outdated in front of its competition.However unlike the Chevrolet BEAT this MPV may not be here in a hurry.

For more pictures of this MPV please visit the Winding road website:
Here

[source,image source:Winding road]

Also read:
Chevrolet Tavera -The difference between GM and Toyota

Coming soon :Tata's new MPV.

Tata are looking at going one up on mahindra once again.They are all set to launch an MPV rival for the Toyota innova and the Mahindra ingenio just before the ingenio hits the Indian markets.


Although the car is being manufactured in India ,Tata has an eye on the european markets and is supposedly designing the vehicle along with London based Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC). Remember worldcar fans had caught a Tata Car testing and passed it off as the new Tata Safari somehow I have a feeling it is this new MPV in the pictures[spy picture above].


There is a possibility this new MPV could be based on the Tata Xover concept.Though there is no official confirmation on this. Toyota surely have their work cut out now they will have not one but two rivals to worry about and the new MPV may just match the standards[or come very close] to the offering from Toyota since the Tata MPV is designed keeping in mind the european markets.Tata say the new vehicle offers the comforts of a luxury car with the features of a sports utility vehicle.

Plans are to start trial production of the crossover in June-July and commercial production for a October- November[2008] launch," said one vendor of Tata Motors.

Sumo grande or the Xover,I'd prefer the Xover anyday.

[source:Autoindia]

[image source:dancewiththeshadows,worldcarfans]

Also read:
Mahindra ingenio details

Toyota Fortuner could be here soon

While speculation is rife that Toyota is going to launch the Fortuner in India soon,what has added fuel to the theory is the NDTV coverage of the Thailand motor show,where NDTV strongly hinted about a possible launch of the Fortuner soon in India.

What could spoil the party is the price tag.NDTV suggest it could initially only be assembled here and then according to demand could be manufactured in India at a later date.The Fortuner would thus be competing more with the Honda CRV,Chevrolet Captiva and the likes.The question is would you shell out a hefty premium for a vehicle which shares a major percentage of its DNA with the Innova.

The recent ad spree by toyota inspite of the Innova doing very well the previous month has got a few to suggest that a new vehicle is due soon.Whether its the fortuner,the new corolla or even a facelifted/an all new Innova is anybody's guess.

Update:
The latest is that Toyota plan to launch the fortuner only by 2009[between june-september to be precise],pricing expected within the range of Rs.16-20 lakhs.

PS:Sticking to the NDTV coverage of the Thai motor show,even NDTV confirmed the launch of the next generation honda city by the end of the year.

Mahindra-Our desi version of Land Rover

Mahindra plans to make it big with its UV's[includes Muv and Suv] and pick-ups.Mahindra plan its own version the difference being we are talking about the cheapest possible UV and not a car.Being a UV prices would be a bit more and are expected to be between Rs.4-5 lakhs.Now although this is a cheap vehicle I hope mahindra designers do keep the Urban markets in mind and the fact that we live in the twenty first century.If mahindra keep this in mind then it will have be a runaway success and it will have to face no competition from any competitors at all.

Not much is known about this vehicle except that it is a five seater and that a prototype is ready so expect a few spy pictures soon.The full production version is expected in our markets by next year[2009].

And now for the next vehicle in the line-up which would surely send Toyota india back to the drawing board as far as their UV line-up is concerned.The innova's magic run could soon end with the introduction of the ingenio and somebody has told me expect some class first features in the ingenio.The ingenio would be powered by the 2.6crde engine[mhawk or not I am not sure].But the killer blow would be on the price front it is expected to be a lot more cheaper than the innova[Business Standard reports Rs.6.5 lakhs].The ingenio is expected by the year end[2008 end] yes that's right the wait is not that long any more.

Mahindra also have a new suv in the pipeline remember[expected in 2010] and it is expected to take on the likes of the Honda crv,Toyota Fortuner.

As far as the Land rover tag don't know if that is a good thing these days Mahindra would like to see themselves more as a successful brand associated with suv's.

Also read:
India: Mahindra looks at raising the bar with its next SUV

Buying a second hand car- Prefer a Japanese one

One more reason as to why Japanese cars should be on top of the list if you are hunting for a second hand car.Warranty direct UK conducted a survey and as expected its the Japanese vehicles which top the list.

The Toyota Avensis Verso has topped the list as the most preferred used car in britain.Unfortunately this car is not available in India.The closest we have is the Toyota Innova.Next is the nissan x-trail and the Honda jazz.Again the jazz is not yet available in India but its sibling[same platform] the Honda city is available and we know its popularity in the seconds market.

Honda had most number of cars in the list and overall all japanese manufacturers did well.The germans were not very far away either.So whats the conclusion looking out for a second hand car preferably stay away from the american manufacturers.

Toyota's customer unfriendly initiatives

Toyota have always looked at their profitability even at the cost of the Customers convienience and even compromising security of the vehicle.

As far as the inconvenience bit ,you have the option of power steering on the base model E but no air conditioning option even after paying close to Rs9 lakhs but the worst bit is the G1 model does not come with an intermittent wiper,something which cars much cheaper come with.

And this is not the case with Toyota India itself,I was going through this review about the american corolla and the first thing the reviewer was very critical was Toyota's attempt at cutting corners which was emphasized most in the fact that Toyota is only giving power windows as a standard feature on the top end corolla model compare this to Honda who have long made power windows standard across their entire civic range.

But these are things one can live with, what is not acceptable is the security bit.Toyota knew that its earlier MUV the Toyota qualis was one of the favorite amongst car thieves and this is precisely why they came up with immobilisers for the innova range but they kept this out from the base model innova[E].And what do we have now apart from the Tavera and the Indica,the Toyota innova is the favourite amongst car thieves according to a newspaper report.

Toyota have only to look at Maruti as an example,Maruti has given the immobiliser feature[icats] across its range even to the cheapest Maruti 800.This just costs the customer an added Rs.3000 surely somebody buying an innova could easily afford.

Hopefully these stolen cars were the ones which did not have immobilisers because believe me just yesterday came across a stolen Toyota innova top end model[v].Why I am so sure the number reads as MH-03 XXX .Now when was it when that series existed.

Chevrolet Captivates The Indian Buyer

The Chevrolet captiva is all set to become a runaway success for GM with approx 1200 now expected to be sold when GM was targeting only 1000.What GM[and other manufacturers in India for that matter] should realise is that they seem to be spending too much time and valuable $$$ on the small car segment when there are other segments still waiting to be tapped.

On a personal level I like the looks of the Captiva and that it gives you a seven seater option plus it being a diesel gives the Captiva the edge over its rivals.

Once again emphasis the importance of diesel in Indian markets and that even the super rich are bothered when it comes to their monthly fuel bills.Whatever manufacturers like Honda tell I believe, our market too has matured like the European markets and accepted diesel and its really important for manufacturers to offer diesel as well no matter what the segment.The Tata nano buyer or the Mercedes/BMW buyer will go in for a diesel if given a choice.

While at the topic of SUV's what I picked up is GM is also looking at introducing new variants of the Tavera[MUV] with even possibly an all new engine to take on the likes of the Toyota Innnova,Tata Sumo Grande and the yet to be launched Mahindra Ingenio.About time since the Tavera is now mostly a Call centre cab and as far as the individual buyer is concerned it has become a strict no no.

[Image source:About.com]

Update:
Honda have responded and shall bring in their diesel CRV soon:
Honda To bring in its diesel CRV soon,Marutis new small car.

Chevrolet Tavera -The difference between GM and Toyota

You want to know why the Japanese manufacturer is such a dominant force in the automobile world and why GM is having such a hard time,look no further than the Chevrolet Tavera.

Toyota India initially identified the MUV space which could get them sales in the Indian market somewhere where they would have no competition but knew prices had to be kept on the lower side since this segment was totally new in India and people had not yet accepted the Toyota brand in India.So they bring the more than a decade old Toyota Qualis into the market and since they have no real competitor establish themselves well and are able to generate a good degree of sales.GM was fortunate enough to have a similar vehicle in its global stables and brought in the Tavera,which was good enough to take on the Qualis.

So what did Toyota do they upped the game brought the latest generation MUV the Toyota Innova into India inspite of very good sales of the qualis and repeated requests not to discontinue the qualis.Toyota realised that they could get into the luxury car segment as well and not only depend on the tourist/commercial segment if they do so.What it also meant that Toyota could make more profits from this luxury oriented and consequently higher priced MUV.

GM has alway had to play the catch up game with Toyota.Today sales of the Tavera have stagnated.The outdated nature of the Tavera has kept it out of the Private buyers radar.This really creates a bad image of the vehicle and the company.It is the Taxi/commercial segment who are the main segment of consumers of the Tavera today.The end result is Toyota is able to sell many more Innova's as compared to the Tavera but at the same time Toyota is making more money from each vehicle it sells.Its not only about fancy management concepts like Just in Time,its things like these what makes Toyota the company it is today.

Its high time GM stops the Tavera in India and brings in something that would be completely out of the box.

Also read:
Chevrolet Captivates The Indian Buyer

Toyota India to replace defective Innovas

CNN-IBN says that Toyota have released an official statement which says Toyota India are not recalling the Innovas but if necessary going to replace the vehicle in a special service campaign.The company has sent letters to customers notifying them of the potential fault in their cars.

Since the Innovas constitute only 15% of the total sold in the Indian markets such a move will not have major Financial implications for Toyota India is what they are claiming.

Have not yet got any official word on this but would post updates as soon I can.

[Source:CNN-IBN]

Toyota to launch new variants of The Innova

Now that the competition [Mahindra scorpio and the Tata safari] have raised the bar its time the innova gets a few added luxury features.The Mahindra scorpio for instance now comes with cruise control,rain sensing wipers ,automatic headlamps,tyre pressure monitoring systems,Reverse parking assist.

Toyota may also thinking along these lines for the newer variants but expect a rise in prices too.Since the innova is not that new a facelift cannot be ruled out completely but at this point looks unlikely and toyota may just come out with only newer variants of the Innova.Toyota could do well if it also gives an engine upgrade option too since the competition has somewhat left behind the innova with regards to this[even the Tata sumo is shortly going to be launched with a 120 bhp engine].

For those waiting for the fortuner a bit of hope is that once again toyota talk of launching new products on the innova platform for India.However it may not be here that soon.What we could see in the near future apart from the changes to the innova is the All new Corolla which is hitting ASEAN markets by march so we could get it here real soon.Also work on the new small car is going ahead at full steam and a lot more details could possibly come out when Toyota President, Mr Katsuaki Watanabe comes here by the end of january.

Edit:What I have learnt is that for 2008 ,Toyota is indeed thinking of a facelift for the Fortuner and the Hilux pickup in markets like South Africa , so the possibility of an Innova facelift cannot be ruled out completely.

Toyota India recalling Innovas manufactured between april-october 2007

This may be the first major recall by an automotive company in India.So far recalls have been more on minor issues but this time it gets a bit serious.The innova when launched in India did have its share of problems and then it was more of a silent recall.

Now Toyota are recalling Innova's manufactured between april-october 2007[approximately 20,000 they say] for a problem in the differential carrier mounting nuts, which becomes loose, and on long usage could lead to oil leakage.

Owners[affected] need not worry since Toyota says the problem would be rectified at their dealerships in an hours time.My suggestion is even if your innova is manufactured around these dates best to check with your dealership if your Innova has this problem.

However something which I found not acceptable was the justification from Toyota India,here's what they have to say,"This is still a small number considering that the total number of Innovas on the road is about 1.3 lakh. Also, we have experienced this problem only in India, probably due to the road conditions here as the same vehicle elsewhere in the world are not facing any such problems," This from none other than the Toyota Kirloskar Motor Deputy Managing Director, K K Swamy.

How could only this particular batch of innova's be affected by road conditions and not the ones manufactured before this date and also after this date.

Toyota Fortuner 6-12 months away from India Launch.

This time round finally toyota are serious and finally after now what is years of towing with the Fortuner idea Toyota plan to give it one last shot.Within the next six months toyota would take a firm decision with regards to the Fortuner SUV[which uses the same IMV platform as the innova].This decision would finally confirm if at all the Fortuner would make it to Indian soil or toyota will scrap the idea altogether after which the introduction should not take more than six months so expect the Toyota Fortuner within a year if at all it was destined for the Indian markets.

This got me looking for reviews on the internet about the Fortuner and though the build quality and the finishing of the interiors matched expectations what disappointed many reviewers was the lifeless and sterile driving experience of the Fortuner[even Comparing the driving experience of the Fortuner to the new Honda city].Also even with the impressive[atleast on paper] 2.7L petrol and 3.0L d4d[common rail diesel engines] reviewers did not exactly find it a scorcher,whether the Fortuner would appeal to enthusiasts we would have to wait and see when we do get the Fortuner on Indian roads for a test-drive.

Just in case environmentalists in India are upset,toyota does plan to Introduce the Prius as well just don't know how much of a premium it would command in the Indian markets.

Update:
The latest is that Toyota plan to launch the fortuner only by 2009[between june-september to be precise],pricing expected within the range of Rs.16-20 lakhs.

Toyota to possibly launch new vehicle in India soon-Update Confirmation from Toyota executive.

After the Qualis was discontinued in the Indian market by Toyota there was a lot of Hue and Cry for its reintroduction especially since the Innova attracts a significant premium compared to the Qualis.Well those requests seem to have been heard by Toyota.

According to a Toyota dealer with dealerships in more than a couple of cities Toyota India is looking at possibly introducing a vehicle soon to step into the vacant space left by the qualis and would be priced between between the Qualis-Innova range.No amount of persuading could get me further details of the vehicle.Surprisingly the present innova could even be discontinued is what I was told.Now dealer level talk must always be taken with a pinch of salt and not trusted in its entirety but with the present ad spree by Toyota there have been rumors regards this or even a facelifted innova.

Whether Toyota discontinue the innova or not,I just wish we get a new vehicle or even a cheaper alternative because its high time since Toyota starts becoming a serious player in the Indian markets.
********************************************************************************
Update:
Official confirmation from Toyota: The TMC Executive Vice-President for production, Mr Takeshi Uchiyamada,said the company’s joint venture partner in India is working on a few models which could come out of the International Multipurpose Vehicle (IMV) platform. “We are trying to finetune the product for the Indian market,” he said.

The new product could come out soon. The IMV platform is being currently used to produce the Innova car. It can also be used to build a mini van.

[Source: The Hindu Business Line]

What remains to be seen is whether the Innova is discontinued for Indian markets to make way for the new product as was told to me by my source.

Related post:
Keralites love their Toyota Innova