Toyota Yaris now getting OUTSOLD by the Volkswagen Vento & Skoda Rapid

The recently launched Toyota Yaris is turning out to be a backmarker in the highly competitive C-Segment sedan space. Cars that have been around for more than five years – the Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Rapid – are now outselling the Yaris, which is in a steep sales decline. Toyota shipped out only 421 units of the Yaris to dealer stockyards in October 2018, bang in the middle of the festive season, a time when sales and dispatches are usually quite high.

Except for the second month after launch, when it clocked close to 3,000 units, the Toyota Yaris is seeing sales declining, month after month. Toyota’s premium pricing strategy may be a reason why the Yaris is not finding enough takers. With an average ex-showroom starting price of Rs. 9.26 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi, the Yaris is pricier than most other C-Segment sedans, including top sellers like the Honda City, Maruti Ciaz and Hyundai Verna.

Also, the lack of a diesel engine could be hurting at a time when petrol prices have shot through the roof. All other competitors of the Toyota Yaris offer diesel engine options. To be fair to the Yaris, even the base variant of the car is feature-rich, with ABS, 7 airbags and roof mounted AC vents to name some. However, buyers don’t seem to be impressed enough.

Coming to the numbers clocked by the Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Rapid, the former managed 480 units while the latter mustered 1,205 units.

Both the Vento and Rapid are priced much lower than the Toyota Yaris, with average ex-showroom prices starting from Rs 8.43 lakhs. and Rs. 8 lakhs respectively. In the coming days, don’t be surprised if Toyota offers large discounts on the Yaris.

The Toyota Yaris is powered by a 1.5 liter petrol engine that puts out 106 PS-140 Nm. A 6 speed manual and CVT automatic gearbox with 7 stepped shifts are on offer with the car. The Yaris is the only car in its segment to offer front parking sensors, 7 airbags including a knee airbag for the driver, ambient lighting, gesture sensing touchscreen infotainment system and roof mounted AC vents.