Sources have stated that earlier on Monday, Toyota announced that as of January 31, it had sold some 10 million hybrid cars globally since building the world’s first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle, the Prius, back in 1997. A million of those sales came since end-April 2016, indicating how hybrids today are “out of the unknown and into the mainstream,” as Toyota chairman Rajesh Uchiyamada put it in a press release.
It was stated that at close to 10 million, Toyota globally sells five times as many vehicles as Suzuki and is the world’s largest carmaker. The situation couldn’t be more lopsided in India. Maruti Suzuki, the local operation, rules the roost with a market share of 47.6%, with Toyota languishing with 4.7% market share.
Meanwhile small cars like the Alto and Swift are Maruti’s bread and butter, while Toyota hasn’t quite been able to crack that segment. Unable to make a dent in one of the few growth markets projected to become the world’s third largest by 2020 doesn’t augur too well for the world leaders and over the years, Toyota has been quietly strengthening its hold over other Japanese car makers. It may look at Suzuki as one of its subsidiaries, retaining it as an independent brand.
