
Toyota has finally pulled the plug on the Corolla Altis and Etios series in the Indian market. The two model ranges were discontinued citing stringent norms and India’s switch to BS6 fuel norms.
Introduced in 2010, the Etios series spawned various derivatives from the same platform which included the Etios Liva hatchback and Etios Liva Cross. Though the Etios sedan and Etios Liva were upgraded from time with facelifts and feature upgrades to keep them fresh, the Etios Liva Cross was never upgraded since its launch in May 2014.
Speaking to Auto Goa, Mr Sunesh Krishnan, team leader of Sharayu Toyota said “Etios was a reliable brand and offered loads of space and required less mantainence as well. However it was discontinued due to plain Jain looks and new entrants such as the Toyota Glanza which is doing well in the market”.
The Corolla Altis on the other hand was sold over a decade with the first version making it to our markets way back in 2001. Over the years, the premium midsize sedan sold over three generations with several facelifts and engine upgrades making it to the car.
Mr Sunesh further added “that the Corolla Altis which was one of the most successful models not just in the Indian market but globally as well. However over the years the executive sedan segment has diminished and threatened by the heavily crowding compact SUV space because of which sales of the Corolla Altis took a downturn and it had to be discontinued”. However a return of the Corolla Altis either with a Toyota badge or a Maruti Suzuki badge cannot be ruled out, he further stressed.
The discounting of the Corolla Altis from the Indian market has also opened up more space in the segment with the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra facelift and soon to arrive, next gen Skoda Octavia to enjoy a free run.

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