Toyota is expected to launch an all-new sedan in India next year. This sedan is likely to be the Vios, which is already sold in many South East Asian countries. A report on MotorOctane says that the Vios will be a petrol-only car for the Indian market.
The Vios is a C-Segment sedan whose rivals include the Honda City, Hyundai Verna and the Maruti Ciaz. All these cars offer both petrol and diesel engines. So, the Vios not offering a diesel engine will be odd. However, the reason Toyota may not offer one is because the Vios sold internationally is a petrol-only car.
Adding a diesel engine to this car will need a lot of engineering changes. This is something Toyota may not like to do just for the Indian market due to the high costs involved in such an exercise. In markets abroad, the Vios is sold with a 1.5 liter petrol engine that also gets variable valve timing technology.
This engine produces 108 Bhp of peak power at 6,000 rpm and 140 Nm of peak torque at 4,200 rpm. 5 speed manual and CVT automatic gearboxes are offered with this engine. Both these options are expected to be offered in the Indian market as well.
Toyota is expected to unveil the Indian version of the Vios at the 2018 Auto Expo in February. The car has been spotted testing multiple times on Indian roads. The Qualis MUV was the only successful budget car from Toyota in the Indian market.
The Etios and Liva twins have not done well for the brand and are now bought mainly by cab operators. Toyota plans to change this through the Vios. However, without a diesel engine powering this car, it may be a tough task for Toyota to make it a big success in India. What are your thoughts?