Toyota Motor, Suzuki tie up to sell each other’s cars in India
Toyota Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor
Corp on Thursday agreed to sell each other’s cars in India, where Suzuki outsells Toyota models 11-to-one, deepening the partnership between the two companies.
While Suzuki will supply its best-selling models such as compact car Baleno and small sports utility vehicle Vitara Brezza to Toyota, small car specialist Suzuki will source Toyota’s popular sedan Corolla and sell it through the dealership network of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd—its local unit.
“Details on each model, such as the schedule of the start of supply, number of supplied units, vehicle specifications, and supply pricing, will be considered at a later stage,” the companies said in a joint statement, adding that the announcement is a part of “a basic agreement toward the mutual supply
NEW DELHI:
of hybrid and other vehicles between the two companies for the Indian market”.
The latest development follows a research and development alliance announced by the two companies a year ago.
The coming together of Toyota, the world’s largest automobile company, and Suzuki, which dominates the Indian market, underlines the importance of the local passenger vehicle market that is expected to triple to
9.4 million units by 2026 from 3.2 million now if the economy grows at an average rate of 5.8% a year, according to the government’s Auto Mission Plan 2016-26.
While the companies refrained from calling it “cross-badging” of their products, Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava said, Vitara Brezza or Baleno will be tweaked outwardly so that it does not look identical when Toyota sells them and a similar strategy will be adopted by Toyota for its Corolla sedan.