With a monthly sale of just 134 units, the Toyota Corolla Altis has witnessed a massive downslide in its popularity, which could be attributed to the arrival of the new Honda Civic
The Toyota Corolla Altis, which was once the segment-leader in its class, has witnessed a huge downslide in its popularity over the last few months. In the month of May 2019, the Altis witnessed a 49.2 per cent decrease in the sales volume on the YoY basis.
While it’s true that the D-segment sedans aren’t popular among the new car buyers, a reason for this dropping popularity could be the introduction of the tenth-gen Honda Civic.
So far, the latest Honda Civic seems to have struck the right chord with the buyers. Compared to the Toyota Corolla Altis, it has managed to sell in much more numbers.
In fact, if you consider its last month’s sales performance, the new Civic managed to have a 100 per cent more demand than its Japanese adversary. It sold 368 units, which is exactly twice of what the Altis could manage in the same time period.
The current Toyota Corolla Altis draws power from a 1.8-litre petrol mill that produces a maximum power of 140 PS and a peak torque of 173 Nm. Also on offer is a 1.4-litre turbocharged diesel engine that offers a maximum power of 88 PS and a peak torque of 205 Nm. The former is available with both manual and automatic transmission options, while the oil-burner is on sale solely with a manual transmission option.
On the other hand, the tenth-gen Honda Civic has been on sale in India with two engine options – 1.8-litre i-VTEC petrol and 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel. The former produces a maximum power of 141 PS and a peak torque of 174 Nm, which is only marginally more than what the petrol version of the Toyota Corolla Altis offers.
The diesel engine variant, however, makes all the difference. Compared to the paltry output of the Corolla’s diesel motor, the 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine of the new Honda Civic offers a maximum power of 120 PS and a peak torque of 300 Nm. Like the 1.4-litre unit of the Toyota Corolla Altis, the oil-burner of the Honda Civic comes mated to a six-speed manual transmission.