Toyota to stop selling sedan Yaris in India

TOYOTA Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Monday (27) said it will halt sale of its mid-sized sedan Yaris in India with immediate effect as part of its product strategy to cater to the customers’ evolving needs.

The company launched the car in May 2018 at a price range of Rs 8.75 lakh and Rs 14.07 lakh (ex-showroom), competing with popular brands like Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz. However, Yaris failed to get a robust response, recording a cumulative wholesale of around 19,800 units.

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“Toyota Kirloskar Motor announces the discontinuation of Yaris in India with effect from Sep 27, 2021. This move is a part of Toyota’s product strategy to continue to cater to the ever-evolving needs of the customer through enhanced technologies and product offerings,” TKM, which is an Indian joint venture between Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation and India’s Kirloskar Group, said in a statement.

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The company also said, “One of our unwavering principles is putting the customer first. Toyota's product strategy is based on enhanced quality, developing new innovative technologies, continuous market study to identify the key focus areas towards meeting the changing customer preferences and trends.”

Stressing that it remains “committed to delivering ever-better cars with the most advanced and sustainable technologies to the Indian customers”, TKM said it would continue to serve its customers in India with other current offerings and preparations are underway to launch new Toyota models in the coming new year 2022.

Currently, TKM sells a range of vehicles, including hatchback Glanza, compact SUV Urban Cruiser, multi-purpose vehicle Innova Crysta, premium SUV Fortuner, among others.

Over the last two decades, the company said it has been harnessing its manufacturing capabilities to bring in world-class products to Indian consumers.

“As a part of this endeavour, we will continue to leverage our leadership and vast expertise in cleaner technologies to refresh our product portfolio to meet the evolving customer choices and enable a greener mobility,” it added.

As for existing Yaris owners, TKM said it will continue to “seamlessly cater to all Yaris customers’ needs through our dealer service outlets across the country, along with the promise of availability of Toyota genuine spare parts for minimum next 10 years on this discontinued model”.