Toyota on Wednesday launched the diesel version of its premium sedan Corolla Altis and announced plans to introduce its much-awaited compact car Etios in December this year.
Priced between Rs. 10.95-lakh and Rs. 13.75-lakh, the diesel variant of Corolla Altis is equipped with 1.4 litre ‘D-4D' common rail diesel technology and six-speed transmission system, delivering 88.4 PS power and a mileage of 21.43 km per litre. The car comes loaded with latest safety and luxury features.
“We hope that the entire Corolla Altis range will sell around 1,300 every month, including 800 units of diesel variant,” said Hiroshi Nakagawa, Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor. Corolla was introduced in India in 2003 and has so far sold over 60,000 units. The luxury sedan is also available in petrol and CNG options.
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Talking about Etios, Mr. Nakagawa said the launch would be held in December this year as scheduled and the company was still to decide to either launch both sedan and hatchback versions of the car or introduce either of the two first. Initially, Etios will have petrol engine, which is likely to be followed by diesel version.
According to TKM Deputy Managing Director (Marketing) Sandeep Singh, “We are expecting that more than half of its overall sales in India next year to come from Etios. In 2011, total sales of the company will be 1.50-lakh units, out of which we expect the Etios to be around 67,000 units.” In the current year, the company hopes to see its sales reach 70,000 units against 55,497 units in 2009.