Japanese automotive manufacturer Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) recently announced that the company would no longer sell its flagship sedan Yaris. The announcement came on Monday, and the reason cited for this step to discontinue the model was the lack of demand the car could kindle for itself.
The car has been in the market for the past three years, but could not find enough buyers in India owing to a couple of reasons. The Yaris when released into the Indian market, had already been in use in other national markets under the name Vios Moniker, and hence consisted of an older design. Moreover, the sedan didn’t offer as many features as other cars were doing in a similar price segment.
Hence owing to its minimal features, heavier pricing and lack of extensive updates, the sedan couldn’t keep up with the buyers and their choices. The production for Yaris had already been halted a while ago, and the company was waiting for the stocks to clear out.
According to the statement released by the company, this step comes “as 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.”
The company is working on new products engineered for the Indian masses and would soon be pushing them into the market. The rebadged Maruti Suzuki Ciaz is the next model that the company would release, most probably under the name Toyota Belta.
As far as the existing Yaris customers are concerned, the company would continue to provide services to them through its dealer service outlets across the country. The company also claimed that genuine spare parts would continue to be available for the next coming ten years despite the sedan’s discontinuation.
The company in a statement said, “Ever since its India debut, the Yaris, built on Toyota’s QDR philosophy, has won the hearts of the customers with its stunning style & design, leading features, low maintenance cost and unmatchable drivability, thus creating a unique ownership experience. We thank all our customers for their support and placing their trust in the brand. We would like to continue to serve such customers with other current offerings and preparations are underway to launch new Toyota models in the coming new year 2022.”
The company added, “In addition, over the last two decades, we have been harnessing our 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 greener mobility.”
The company currently provides models like Innova, Crysta, Glanza, Camry and the Fortuner in India.