Toyota's hatchback 'Etios Liva' by April next yr

Japanese auto major Toyota on Thursday said it will launch compact car 'Etios Liva ' by April 2011 to strengthen position in India, where it is a fringe player in the car segment, as against its leadership position globally.

The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, said the pricing of the hatchback - based on the same platform as its new Etios sedan - will be decided after the Union Budget. It has priced the entry level sedan Etios between Rs 4.96 lakh and Rs 6.86 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

"The launch of Etios sedan will be followed by the hatchback model called Etios Liva. By the end of March next year or April beginning we will launch the car and deliveries will start from April," Toyota Kirloskar Motors Deputy Managing Director (Marketing) Sandeep Singh told reporters here.

On the pricing of Etios Liva, he said: "We will take a call after the Budget."

While the Etios sedan is powered by a 1.5 litre petrol engine, the Liva will have 1.2 litre petrol engine. Singh said with both put together, the company plans to sell 70,000 cars in India next year.

The company aims to sell 1.45 lakh units of all its models next year, he said, from about 73,000 units expected in 2010. Toyota sells sedans Toyota Corolla Altis and Camry along with multi utility vehicle Innova.

It aims to capture 10 per cent of the Indian car market by 2015, mainly on the back of the Etios family. Overall, 15 lakh cars were sold in the country in 2009-10.

Globally, Toyota was the world's largest carmaker in 2010, despite its consolidated sales declining 4.4 per cent to 7.24 million units from the previous year.

Singh said the Toyota Kirloskar Motors could increase the output of Etios depending on customer demand from the current levels of 80,000 units a year.

He said for Etios sedan, the company has received 3,077 orders within two days of the launch on Wednesday. The deliveries will start from January.

Managing Director Hiroshi Nakagawa said about 70 per cent of the components of Etios are locally sourced. Only critical components like engines and transmissions are imported.

"By 2012, we will shift the engine production to India followed by transmission in 2013," he said, adding after that the localisation level would be 90 per cent.