Toyota recently launched its new small car Agya alongside Daihatsu Ayla at the Indonesia motor show. Daihatsu is a Toyota owned small car brand. Both the cars are built by Daihatsu and are actually the same car, the only point of difference being the Toyota’s different bumper and grille.
The engines in both these cars are equipped with 3-cylinder 1.0 Litre petrol engine from Toyota’s European small car the Aygo. The motor has a power output of 68PS @ 6000RPM and a maximum torque of 87Nm @ 3600RPM. The engine will be mated with a 5 speed automatic transmission or may also have an option of a 4 speed automatic transmission.
The Ayla will be for low cost buyers, but the Agya will also target a higher market with a TRD S variant that would have front and rear aprons, alloy wheels, side skirts and airbags.
The length of the car will be about 3500mm and a good enough ground clearance of 180mm. The car has a spacious cabin with a good central console and well-built interiors.
The Ayla would be launched in 3 variants, namely the entry level D, mid-range M and the top end X variant. The D variant does not feature an air conditioner or an audio system, suggesting that the cars are built for budget. The vehicle planning and production will be carried out by Daihatsu itself at its plant in Indonesia. Both cars are designed as per the Indonesian Government’s Low Cost Green Car Policy (LCGC) which, if implemented, could qualify these cars for special incentive tax breaks. The company might also produce the car locally there by further reducing production costs.
If these cars achieve the same level of success as the Toyota Avanza and Daihatsu Xenia did in 2003, Toyota might consider bringing the Agya to other countries of south Asia. The Agya has all the features to be successful in India where Toyota has not entered the small car segment till now. If it comes to India, the Agya would be a direct rival to the Chevrolet beat, Ford’s Figo and the Hyundai i10 to new a few.
Toyota has very strong service circle in India. It might benefit by the faith that it has created in the Indian buyers mind with the help of the Innova and the Etios. Toyota’s superior finishing and great ride quality in such a small car would be a huge plus for the Indian Roads and Indian Buyer.
The small hatch segment in India is pretty heated up with new lunches in almost every season. Toyota maybe temped to try out the Agya in India. The 5 door small hatch would be the last missing page in Toyota’s impressive catalogue for India which has almost all kinds of vehicles. The Agya is priced at Rp. 75 Million, which is approximately equal to 4.26 lakh rupees and would go up to 5.3 Lakh rupees, making it a very competitive price in the small car segment.
This post was written by
Leave a Reply