Honda City to feel most of the heat from launch of Toyota’s Yaris?

March 26, 2020 (MLN): Indus Motor Company (IMC) last week graced the Automobile industry with the launch of the all-new Toyota Yaris, at an attractive price starting at PKR 2.349 million. The company commenced bookings of its new vehicle on March 19, 2020.

Having six different variants altogether, Yaris is all set to replace 1300cc and 1500cc variants of Corolla. This, perhaps, has been the only positive news for the Auto Sector in a very long time, especially for the IMC. A report by Taurus Securities has mentioned that the launch of Yaris will help in further enhancing the market share of the company, as long as there is no similar launch by competitors.

Honda Company is feeling most of the heat from this launch, as it sees its City model at a very high risk of losing its market share to Yaris. The report states that there has always been a substantial price difference between Toyota Corolla and Honda City, with the latter being the cheaper one. This difference has benefitted Honda Company as consumers always preferred Honda for it having almost the same features as that of Toyota, that too at attractive prices.

However, the tables have turned around this time as Yaris is not only available at a favorable price, but also contains features that are not present in City variants, such as a 7 Speed Continuous Variable Transmission as well as airbags. Honda City, on the other hand, has a 5 Speed Progressive Transmission and no airbags.

It is pertinent to note that consumers have been waiting for the launch of Yaris with bated breath, with many of them already having booked the car for purchase. The situation has even improved than before as the interest rates are down to 11% as a result of monetary easing, which means consumers will have access to cheaper car financing.

With everything going as planned, there’s just one factor that may stop the company from tasting victory – the pandemic. Coronavirus has compelled most of the companies to put a halt in their production processes, including Indus Motor and Pak Suzuki Motors. This means that it will take some time before the company finally realizes the much needed benefits from the launch.

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