Maruti-rebadged models account for 52% of Toyota India sales in April-July 2024

Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s move to introduce Maruti-rebadged models has paid off handsomely in the Indian passenger vehicle market. Following Toyota Corp’s global product-sharing pact with Suzuki Corp, there are now four badge-engineered models in India bearing the Toyota logo – the Glanza (based on the Maruti Baleno), Urban Cruiser Hyryder (based on the Maruti Grand Vitara), Rumion (based on the Maruti Ertiga) and the Urban Cruiser Taisor (based on the Maruti Fronx).  

The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder midsize SUV with 18,852 units, up 58% YoY, is the best-selling of the four rebadged models in April-July 2024.

These four Toyota models, which have cumulatively sold an estimated 51,314 units between April and July 2024, currently account for 52% of TKM’s total passenger vehicle wholesales of 97,867 units (up 35% YoY), clearly establishing their key role in the Japanese automaker’s resurgence in the Indian passenger vehicle market.

The 52% share constitutes an increase of 12% year on year. In the year-ago April-July 2023 period, with two models (Glanza and Hyryder), the share of Maruti-rebadged models in TKM’s total passenger vehicles sales (April-July 2023: 72,234 PVs) was 40 percent.

The badge-engineering partnership between the two automakers has also resulted in Maruti Suzuki borrowing the Toyota Innova Hycross for its Invicto MPV, which has sold an estimated 5,363 units since launch in July 2023 till end-July 2024.

Wholesales data for the April-July 2024 period reveals that the Urban Cruiser Hyryder midsize SUV with 18,852 units, up 58% YoY, is the best-selling of the four rebadged models, followed by the Glanza hatchback with 17,851 units, up 4% YoY. The Urban Cruiser Taisor compact SUV, launched on April 3, 2024, is already in third place with 8,005 units while the Rumion MPV, launched in August 2023, accounts for 6,606 units. The Rumion has sold over 12,500 units in its first year till end-July 2024. 

The Glanza, launched in June 2019, has till end-July 2024 clocked sales of 178,886 units while the Hyryder, launched in September 2022, is closing in on the 100,000-unit sales milestone. 

Mantra for Toyota-Maruti badge-engineering
Production and sales volume is highly critical in the automotive industry and badge-engineering is one way of sharing costs between automakers while also generating incremental volumes. The capital expenditure or the investment to make model change is minimal and, importantly, vehicle buyers have taken a shine to such badge-engineered products. Furthermore, the OEM ‘borrowing’ the product from the donor OEM – Toyota Kirloskar Motor from Maruti Suzuki India – does not have to incur any developmental costs.

What also makes the Toyota-Maruti Suzuki partnership a success is that the Toyota-badged models haven’t impacted sales of their donor Maruti models. This is also because of the arrangement between the two carmakers that ensures the owner of the product has the right to maximum volumes.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor headed for record sales in FY2025
In FY2024, of TKM’s record passenger vehicle sales of 245,676 units, up 42%, the share of three rebadged models (Glanza, Hyryder and Rumion) was 43% at 107,151 units. FY2025 bids fair to be yet another fiscal of strong sales for the Japanese car and SUV manufacturer.

With eight months still to go in FY2025, Toyota Kirloskar Motor has already achieved 40% of the FY2024 total till end-July. With the festive season soon to kick in, and sustained strong demand for most of its products, it could be surmised that the 300,000 units mark could be scaled for the first time in FY2025. 

(With inputs from Autocar India)