India: Toyota Launches Small Car Into Huge Market
Woken up by the Tata Nano warning shot (which so far seems to be a dud), everybody agrees that the key to making India “the next China” is to start small. Why does Suzuki own more than half of India’s market? Small cars. And motorcycles. Another key to emerging markets is to give people an easy upgrade path from two wheels to four wheels. Remember how BMW got started? Remember that the initial business plan for the Volkswagen was to offer citizens of the Third Reich a car for the price of a motor cycle?
No wonder manufacturers are scouring their line-up for cars small enough for the huge Indian market.
“We will start production of the small car once the second plant is completed,” said Hiroshi Nakagawa, managing director at Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd., told The Nikkei [sub].”The plant will be completed by December.”
Toyota has big plans for the Indian critter. The second plant will have an initial production capacity of 70,000 cars, which will be increased to 200,000 cars in phases.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Let's pool our resources and become the drive-in movie sultans of an entire sub-continent.
Certainly a more challenging/rewarding task than building and marketing SOS cars.
At the rate we're going, we shouldn't laugh. Eventually we will all be riding around like that. Except that we won't be allowed to get or use oil so there will be seven sets of pedals and one really long chain attached to the drive wheel.
India also need cars for east transportation. Use oil so there will be seven sets of pedals and one really long chain attached to the drive wheel. car insurance quotes