Toyota has released the first official teaser of its soon to be launched Glanza premium hatchback. The Glanza is the rebadged Maruti Baleno which is being shared with Toyota as a part of the Suzuki-Toyota agreement wherein both the companies have joint hands to share models, platforms and new-age technologies.
Toyota Glanza will be launched on 6th June 2019 in India. Production has already commenced at Suzuki Motor India plant in Gujarat, the same plant which also makes the Baleno for Maruti Suzuki India. It is to be noted here that Suzuki Motor India (SMIL) and Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) are two different companies. MSIL purchases Baleno from SMIL. And now, Toyota India (TKM) will also purchase Baleno from SMIL.
Compared to Maruti, Toyota aims to sell much smaller number of Baleno / Glanza in India. Where Maruti sells an average of 18k units of Baleno every month, a source tells us that Toyota India has kept a target of just 2k units a month of Glanza in 2019. This is not a small number, as Toyota will not be selling diesel engine powered Glanza.
Test drive and display cars will start arriving at Toyota dealerships from this month, all of which will be in V MT or V CVT grade. Top end G CVT and G MT variants will not be on display or available for test drive ahead of launch. Glanza V is Maruti Baleno’s Alpha trim, while Glanza G is Baleno’s Zeta trim. Toyota aims to sell about 50% of V and 50% of G trim, of that 15% of CVT and 35% of MT variant sales are expected.
A total of 5 colour options will be on offer with Toyota Glanza – Blue, Silver, Grey, White, Red. Of these, Blue and Grey are expected to contribute 25% each in sales, Silver 20% while red and white to contribute 15% each.
The biggest challenge for Toyota sales executives will be to justify the higher price tag of Glanza. Yes, compared to Maruti Baleno, Toyota Glanza will be retailed at a higher price tag. Sales executives will be trained to explain to customers the cross-badging and reason behind higher price. They will create an appeal for brand Toyota by showcasing Toyota Heritage and Lineage. Target audience is millennials in urban cities. With the help of Glanza, Toyota aims to improve sales of Yaris, as the launch of Glanza is expected to bring in more enquiries / footfalls to Toyota dealerships.
Toyota Glanza will see no change in engine. It will continue to be powered by the same 1.2 petrol BS6 engine which is in Baleno. This engine delivers 83 hp and 113 Nm. Diesel engine will not be on offer with Glanza. Official website and social media handles of Toyota Glanza are now LIVE.
