Premium rebadged Baleno hatchback, which gave Toyota market entry into a new segment, crosses the 150,000 sales milestone in 56 months since launch in June 2019.
19 Mar 2024 | 8821 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Toyota Kirloskar Motor is on a good run in the current fiscal, which will deliver its best-ever sales.Combined wholesales of its cars, SUVs and MPVs in the first 11 months of FY2024 are 220,604 units, up 42.51% year on year (April 2022-February 2023: 154,798 units). Along with its sustained ...
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Toyota Kirloskar Motor is on a good run in the current fiscal, which will deliver its best-ever sales. Combined wholesales of its cars, SUVs and MPVs in the first 11 months of FY2024 are 220,604 units, up 42.51% year on year (April 2022-February 2023: 154,798 units). Along with its sustained demand for its SUVs and MPVs, the premium Glanza hatchback is also helping drive growth for the company.
The Glanza is intrinsically the rebadged Baleno, which Maruti Suzuki India manufactures at Suzuki Motor Corp’s plant in Gujarat for Toyota Kirloskar Motor. Launched on June 6, 2019, the Glanza gave Toyota a successful market entry into what essentially was a new segment for the Japanese carmaker in India. Till end-February 2024, as per SIAM industry data, the Glanza has registered total wholesales of 156,716 units (see data table below). The 150,000 milestone was crossed in January 2024, 56 months after the Glanza was introduced in the market.
Between April 2023 and February 2024, the Toyota Glanza has sold 47,943 units, up 32% YoY (April 2022-February 2023: 36,401 units) which is indicative of growing demand for the model. In the process, the Glanza has contributed 22% to TKM’s overall passenger vehicle sales and 96% to the company’s passenger car sales of 50,060 units which includes the Camry sedan (2,117 units).
Despite being a totally badge-engineered version of the Baleno with no differentiation at all (except for the badges), the fact that the first-generation Glanza drew 24,380 customers in its first 10 months of sales in FY2020 proved just how alluring the Toyota brand is. Importantly, the Glanza helped draw a fair number of first-time Toyota buyers, especially in Tier 2 and 3 markets across the country. It is understood that consumer-pulling factors included Toyota's ease of service, roadside assistance and warranty. The Glanza's 3-year / 100,000km warranty is a longer standard warranty than that offered on the Maruti Baleno (2 years / 40,000km)
Second-gen Glanza and CNG variant power sales in FY2023 and FY2024
FY2021’s sales of 22,530 units and FY2022’s 22,097 units meant the Glanza was among the many cars in India impacted by Covid-induced loss of sales. That trend changed in FY2023 with the launch of the new Glanza at the fag end of FY2022.
Following the launch of the second-gen Maruti Baleno, Toyota Kirloskar Motor rolled out the second-generation Glanza in March 2022. Compared to the original model and to differentiate it from the Baleno (which continues to be India’s best-selling premium hatchback), TKM gave the new Glanza different frontal styling including the headlights, grille and bumper, as well as different alloy wheels.
The new Glanza is currently available in nine variants, with pricing starting at Rs 787,000 for the base E variant (on-road Delhi) through to the top-end V AMT, equipped with all the bells and whistles and priced at Rs 11.40 lakh.
The petrol-engined Glanza is powered by Suzuki's new-generation, K12C, 1.2-litre, Dual Jet engine which develops 90hp and is equipped with an idle start-stop system. Inside, the Glanza gets a beige-and-black dual-tone cabin theme compared to the Baleno's blue-black treatment albeit has the same features like the 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system, cruise control, a head-up display and flat-bottom steering wheel. Safety equipment gets a bump up with six airbags and ESC.
Eight months after the launch of the second-gen Glanza, in November 2022, TKM entered the CNG (compressed natural gas) market with the Glanza CNG and the Urban Cruiser Hyryder. The move paid off with the Glanza sales jumping 80% YoY in FY2023 to 39,766 units.
The Toyota Glanza CNG variant, available in S and G trims with manual transmission, is priced at Rs 986,000 and Rs 11 lakh (on-road Delhi) respectively. The Glanza CNG, which is powered by the same 1.2-litre petrol engine in the standard Glanza and the Baleno, is equipped with a five-speed manual transmission powertrain. In petrol-only mode, the engine develops 90hp and 113Nm torque; in CNG mode, the power output drops to 78hp and 98.5Nm. Toyota claims that Glanza CNG delivers fuel efficiency of 30.61km/kg.
In terms of market rivals, other than the Baleno, the Glanza goes head-to-head with the Tata Altroz and the Hyundai i20. Though the Toyota Glanza’s sales in the first 11 months of FY2024 are one-fourth of the Maruti Baleno’s 180,019 units, they prove that demand for the Glanza, a quality and snazzy hatchback with the Toyota branding and aftersales services remains strong.
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