Car Articles

“The world's largest car maker”. Yes, that is the new title to be given to the car maker that sells the highest number of automobiles. As of now, Volkswagen's Polo and Toyota's Etios seem to be having a cold war. It looks like the winner among the two will decide the world's largest car manufacturer. The two are not bothered about other players in the competition.

Recently, Toyota had a lot of issues regarding the quality of its products and has recalled around 8 million cars since September last year. It has even failed to respond immediately to customers' concerns. This gives a plus point to Volkswagen. But, in the long run, will this affect Toyota. It hasn't made a major difference to other car makers in the past. Recalls can take place with any car maker. It is not long ago that Volkswagen too had recalled 200,000 vehicles. But the sales did not show a major decline after the recall. Volkswagen's 8 million recalls do seem big. However, it does not look too big to impact it over a long period. Once the Toyota Etios is all set, the wounds of the past will soon be forgotten.

The Volkswagen Polo's price will be out any moment now. It also looks like Volkswagen will be using the best strategy possible to capture the Indian car market. The biggest battle has already begun. However, 2018 will decide the winner. Yes, Volkswagen plans to beat Toyota by then and grab the World's Largest Car Maker title. Last year, while Toyota sold 7.81 million units, Volkswagen was pretty close, selling a total of 6.29 million cars. Volkswagen has already won over the world's fastest growing market, China. Now, it plans to capture India too. The dream may turn into reality once the Polo makes its way on the Indian road. Toyota too has shown the production-ready hatch and sedan variants of the Etios. Unfortunately, the car plant hasn't been commissioned yet.

Volkswagen has already invested close to Rs. 3,200 crore on its new plant at Pune. The plant has received the ISO 9001:2008 certification too. With a capacity of 110,000 cars, it looks like the figure can easily be doubled. On the other hand, once Toyota's plant is ready, it will be able to accommodate an additional 70,000 cars. Moreover, the Toyota has specially developed the Etios for the developing countries. India being one of them, the performance is sure to be the best on our roads as well. The first reaction at the Auto Expo was that the Etios was not well-designed. But, as soon as the sales begin, the number of buyers is sure to shoot up. Toyota has already proved it in the past when it first started selling its 15-year old Qualis with great success in India.