Taking their collaboration to the next level, Toyota will source the Ciaz from Suzuki and it makes slow-selling Yaris’ future uncertain in India
Toyota and Suzuki have recently announced in a joint release that they will form new collaborations in various fields. One of the results of this development will be Suzuki providing units of the Ciaz to Toyota for sale in the Indian and African markets.
The Ciaz will be sold by Toyota in a re-badged format, where it is expected to get some new styling elements and new badges to make itself look different from Maruti Suzuki’s C-segment contender. Currently not much is known about the launch date of the upcoming sedan.
Toyota already has a C-segment model via Yaris. Launched in April 2018, it has not been able to find a big lot of buyers so far. In February 2019, the mid-size sedan sold only 350 units, while the Maruti Ciaz’s sales figure stood at 3,084 units. Its underwhelming sales meant that the future of the Yaris could be uncertain.
The carmaking duo has even confirmed that Toyota’s version of the Maruti Vitara Brezza will be produced at the Toyota-Kirloskar Motors plant in Bidadi, Karnataka, from 2022. The first-ever cross-badged product to come from this alliance between the Japanese carmakers will be the Toyota-badged Maruti Baleno.
By 2021, Toyota will start providing the Corolla Altis to Maruti Suzuki, while Suzuki will get EV versions of the RAV4 and Corolla Estate for the European market. Toyota and Suzuki have also planned to co-develop a C-segment Toyota MPV that will be sold through the dealership channels of both the manufacturers.
Suzuki will also supply small engines to Toyota, while the latter will supply hybrid systems to the former. Speaking on the new collaborations, Akio Toyota, President, Toyota Motor Corporation, has said – “… We intend to strengthen the competitiveness of both our companies by applying our strong points and learning from each other.”