The Etios has been a massive failure for Toyota Brazil much like that in India and will not be revived for the next generation. Instead, a completely new model will be filling its shoes.
Toyota will soon discontinue the Etios in the Brazilian market due to poor sales. A Toyota executive was quoted saying “the model is at the end of its lifecycle” and will not be revived for the next generation. The executive further stated that instead, the Etios will be replaced by a completely redesigned car and not a redesigned Etios. Launched in 2012 in the South American country, the hatchback failed to meet the company’s expectations in terms of sales, while also gathered severe criticism for a dull design and poor interior fit and finish.
Developed for emerging markets, the Toyota Etios was first launched in India and has received flak for being too dull to drive, while the interior quality has been sub-standard. A major deterrent for customers in Brazil was the centre stacked instrument cluster along with the single wiper blade and also the slim seats that did not go down well with customers. Competing against the Hyundai HB20 (Brazilian version of the i20), Chevrolet Onix and the likes in the segment, the Etios sold 1 lakh units in 20 months since launch in Brazil, while the competition achieved the same number within a year.
The criticism only increased further when the Etios Cross crossover was launched earlier this year in Brazil and did not do well either for the rather confused design with no changes to the interiors. Surprisingly though, the Etios Cross has been selling decently well in our market. In the Indian context, the criticism has been very similar to that of Brazil on the Etios twins. The styling is uninspiring, while the interiors are far from satisfactory, especially at a price tag of around Rs. 6 lakhs.
However, Toyota India has no plans to discontinue the models anytime soon. While sales aren’t close to what the Japanese automaker intended for a mass market offering, the company will continue to sell the Etios with a major facelift planned in the future. The Vios sedan is also said to be on the cards that will help Toyota build sales in the C-segment sedan space. The Etios twins received a mild facelift earlier this month, while the Etios sedan, Liva and Cross achieved a cumulative sale of 4035 units in September this year.
Source – Autopolis