Toyota Kirloskar Urban Cruiser SUV has been launched with prices starting at Rs 8.4 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). This is the second product it has borrowed from Suzuki to sell under its own brand.
The Urban Cruiser is based on Maruti Suzuki Brezza and follows the Glanza, a Baleno facelift that Maruti Suzuki started delivering to Toyota in April 2019. The Toyota Urban Cruiser has been priced substantially higher than the base variant of the Brezza which is sold at Rs 7.34 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
The launch of the Urban Cruiser comes less than a week after Kia Sonet debuted in the same SUV segment priced at Rs 6.7 lakh making it the most affordable in its category.
While Kia Sonet comes with a choice of three engines including a diesel engine the Toyota Urban Cruiser has just one petrol engine which is also borrowed from Maruti Suzuki. There are three variants on offer each with a manual and automatic version. The Urban Cruiser will be available in showrooms in mid-October.
The compact SUV from Toyota comes powered by a 1.5-litre petrol engine generating a peak power of 77kW. The same engine powers the Maruti Brezza. As per Toyota officials, the front design of the Urban Cruiser has been altered to make it look different than the Brezza.
“The front grille and bumper have a differentiated look and on the lines of the Toyota Fortuner. Exterior and interior colours are also different”, Tadashi Asazuma, vice president, sales and marketing, Toyota Kirloskar.
The sub-4 meter compact SUV segment has volumes of 30,000-40,000 units a month with as many as six models. Hyundai’s Venue is the market leader in the segment followed by Maruti Suzuki Brezza.
Toyota Urban Cruiser will be available in three variants with manual and automatic transmission option on each variant. Automatic variants get a lithium-ion battery pack. This is done to enhance fuel-efficiency through a mild hybrid system.
Playcast touchscreen audio with Android Auto/Apple Carplay, smartphone-based navigation, rain-sensing wipers, cruise control and electrochromic inside rearview mirror are some of the features on the Urban Cruiser.
While Toyota is banking on the Urban Cruiser to shore up volumes the strategy of sharing of models has not really worked for the company. Since its launch in April 2019, the Glanza has seen average monthly sales of less than 1,800 units a month.
Toyota sold less than 30,000 units of the Glanza in nearly 18 months till the end of August. Maruti Suzuki clocked nearly 15,000 units a month of the Baleno in the pre-COVID period.
The launch of the Urban Cruiser comes less than ten days after Toyota hit headlines when a senior company official declared that the company was halting investments in India. The company later did changed its stance, announcing investments of Rs 2,000 crore on electric vehicles.
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