Japanese Automaker Toyota Planning To Launch 2 New Vehicles in Indian Market

• Published On: 30 July 2019
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Toyota Preparing To Bring 2 New Vehicles to India

Japanese automaker Toyota has had an uneventful year so far, save for the rebadged version of Maruti Baleno, the maker has not launched a new vehicle in the market so far. However, now there are reports coming in that the Japanese giant is gearing up to launch two new products in the Indian market this year. The first will be the Vellfire luxury MPV and the second will be the TRD version of Fortuner luxury SUV. At a dealer specific event organised by the company recently, it had showcased the Vellfire MPV to its dealers in the market. While the Fortuner TRD is already sold in various markets by the maker and it is nothing but a sportier version of the SUV. The Fortuner TRD is expected to be come to the market as the top model in the Toyota range here. The other launch of the brand for this year – Glanza – has been performing better than other models of the maker like the Etios and Liva.

Toyota Vellfire is likely to be launched in India with a 2.5L petrol engine that is rated to deliver 177 Bhp and 235 Nm. The transmission duties on the MPV will be handled by a CVT automatic transmission and it will be a rear wheel drive vehicle. Since this will be a low volume product, the brand is more likely to take the Completely Built Unit route to export this MPV in the Indian market.

Expect the Vellfire to carry a price tag of nearly Rs. 70-75 lakhs. This ought to limit the market of the MPV severely and only high-end hospitality market and larger families may opt for the MPV here. What is interesting to note here is that the rumoured version of Vellfire for the Indian market will come with an engine that is less powerful than the Innova Crysta in the Indian market. With the price tag of Vellfire nearly triple that of Crysta, the brand may do good with updating the engine in the Vellfire. 

As far as the TRD version of Toyota Fortuner is concerned, it will be an aesthetic update for the SUV. A lot of customers do import TRD kits for their SUV from other countries, so it is about time the brand brought the kit officially to the Indian market. The new version will come with changes to major defining aesthetic features of the SUV that will include changes to roof, updated grille, blacked out parts, and updated bumpers. The mechanicals of the new TRD version are likely to remain unchanged. One can expect a premium of Rs. 1 lakh over the top-end model of the Fortuner for the TRD trim.