Gearing up

Calcutta, Jan. 2: Innova, the utility vehicle from Toyota India, has finally managed to come out of the Qualis’s shadow.

During the first 10 months of this year, Innova sales have edged passed its highly successful predecessor, which had firmly established the Toyota brand in the crowded Indian passenger car market.

Innova was launched at the end of February 2005. During March to December Innova has clocked 4 per cent higher sales than that of Qualis in the comparable period of 2004.

The brand turned the tide to itself during the festive season when the company repositioned it for the passenger segment.

Before this, the passenger segment had contributed only 23-24 per cent of Innova sales.

The company has roped in Bollywood star Aamir Khan to promote Innova.

“We have made inroads in this segment by changing the perception about the car. People have started realising that it is a very good vehicle for personal use as well,” K.K. Swamy, deputy managing director, Toyota Kirloskar Motors told The Telegraph.

The company has also successfully fought the misplaced perception that it was a huge car and not suitable for personal use.

“Following our efforts, passenger segment now contributes 60 per cent of Innova sales,” he added.

As a result, this brand has taken a lead among premium utility vehicles (UV) leaving behind competitors like Mahindra’s Scorpio, Chevrolet’s Tavera and Tata Sumo.

By selling 33,000 Innova between March and December, 2005 compared with 31,000 Qualis sold in 2004, Toyota has a 34 per cent market share in the premium UV segment.

In December alone, its share was close to 40 per cent. The retail sales last month was 4,500.

One of the reasons why people lapped up the car could be that the company has announced a price hike from this month.

Passenger car sales are expected to be robust till December as most of the companies have announced a price hike from this month.

Innova offers many price points, starting from Rs 5.6 lakh to Rs 9.8 lakh. Experts tracking the passenger car market had also noted that a higher price point of Innova compared with Qualis as one of the reasons for the former’s slow pick-up initially.

Swamy said Innova sales should be 42,000 on an yearly basis in 2006-7.

“Auto industry is seeking an excise duty cut in the budget. If that comes across, one can expect robust sales next year,” he pointed out.

Passenger car sales grew close to 20 per cent in the last two years, but it is expected to taper down this fiscal.